Groundwater recharge is the practice of directing water - often rainwater, but sometimes reclaimed water - into groundwater aquifers. Warning sign in Santa Monica, California, where reclaimed water is used to irrigate plants in public parks. ... An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, silt, or clay) from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. ...

Groundwater is normally recharged naturally by rain, though this may be impeded by human activity such as paving ground or cutting down forests, which result in the water running off and flowing away down drains, creeks and rivers, shortly after falling as rain. Use of groundwater, especially for farming, may also lower the water tables. Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of lithologic formations. ...

Thus, conscious planning and techniques, sometimes called "artificial groundwater recharge" or simply "groundwater recharge" are used. This means the practice of directing water - often rainwater (see Rain water harvesting), but sometimes reclaimed water - into groundwater aquifers. Warning sign in Santa Monica, California, where reclaimed water is used to irrigate plants in public parks. ... An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, silt, or clay) from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. ...

External links

• Groundwater recharge - Oregon State University (adapted from "What is Groundwater?" by Lyle Raymond, Jr. 1988) - describes natural recharge.
• Rain Water Harvesting Directorate of Town Panchayats, India. (Describes a number of methods of groundwater recharge used to store rainwater).

Reclaimed water Warning sign in Santa Monica, California, where reclaimed water is used to irrigate plants in public parks. ...