Groudwater Explained:

Interactions between surface water and ground water

The following figure shows some of the interactions between surface water and ground water. It shows 2 types of streams.

Effluent streams tend to be perennial (flow all year). During the dry season, ground water seeps into the channel maintaining stream flow. Influent streams flow only temporarily. They only flow in direct response to precipitation. Water from influent streams moves down through the vadose zone to the water table, forming a recharge mound.

From an environmental standpoint, influent streams are particularly important because water pollution in the stream may move downward through the stream bed and eventually pollute the ground water below.

previous 1 2