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The water pollution, both above ground and below, has devastating effects on all aspects of life. Not only does most drinking water come from groundwater, but many other plants and animals require this water to live.

Most pollutants in groundwater come from;

• Unchecked landfills that are leaking
• Pesticides and fertilizers
• Manure from ranches
• Local businesses not disposing of waste properly

This water contamination is not only unhealthy for the earth, it can also create serious health problems for humans as well. The sources mentioned are the major contributors to water pollution, but every individual feeds into the problem. Dumping cleaning solutions in the backyard, or draining oil into the grass are examples of how each one of us unintentionally contribute to water contamination in our groundwater.

When chemicals and other pollutants are released into the ground, they seep until they hit underground reservoirs of water that come from cave and mountain runoff streams. When the wastes reach this water, they travel along with it contaminating everything the water touches, including our own drinking supplies.

Any type of water contamination can cause its own problems including cancer, birth defects and severe illness in humans. It can eradicate plant life and animals that key to stabilizing eco systems, and because the water is underground, the effect has a far reaching and devastating radius of poison. Oil and gasoline leaks from improper regulation of tanks can kill off small organisms and plant life completely, which can throw an entire ecosystem into turmoil.

Because the water pollution is widespread by the vast expanse that groundwater covers, cleaning up any kind of groundwater contaminate is nearly impossible. It is ridiculously expensive and requires digging up mass amounts of land, which can cause issues for local wildlife or even people, if it occurs in an urban area. It is actually much cheaper to prevent these catastrophes from ever happening than to clean them up afterward.

As far as the human induced problems are concerned, there are things we can do to help. Leaking landfills are a huge source of waste in our water systems. Making sure they are properly sealed and that we are not putting excess toxins (like batteries) would help immensely. This is obviously something your local government would have more authority over, but if they don't know there is a problem, they won't be able to fix it.

Farmers and gardeners can make sure they are using the correct amount of fertilizer and pesticides to prevent an unhealthy amount of pollutants getting into the water. Every person can make sure they are disposing of all waste properly. There are processing plants and recycling centers for almost every chemical you have in your home. There is a place to take your waste; it is simply a matter of looking into your local facilities.

It is so important to keep our water clean for plant life, animals, ourselves and our children. They all depend on us to take care of it. All it takes is for everyone to make sure they are doing the right thing. It saves money, time, effort, and the most important thing of all, our water.