What Are the Different Types of Water Source?
Many people receive their water from water treatment facilities and water towers. Water, however, is a natural resource. This means that the true sources of water are also natural. These sources include icecaps, rivers, and oceans. When people receive their water by way of pipes or wells, they should understand that these are a distribution mechanism instead of a water source.
Earth’s largest water source is the oceans. There are five oceans: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Southern and Arctic. Together they contain about 97 percent of Earth's water. This is saltwater, which is beneficial to humans for many things, such as traveling and maintaining natural cycles, but it is not useful for their consumption. Consuming saltwater can actually be very harmful to humans.
The majority of freshwater is frozen, mainly in the form of glaciers and icecaps. A glacier is a large body of slowly moving frozen water. If it were instantly melted it would be converted into a river. An icecap is a miniature sheet of ice found at high elevation, such as in the mountains. Other frozen water sources include permanently frozen ground, or permafrost, icebergs, and ground ice.
These frozen water sources can affect the sea levels. If wide scale melting occurred, Earth’s water levels would increase and the land area would decrease. It is commonly believed that at different points in history, when the climates were different, the levels of the various water sources were also different.
The second largest freshwater source is groundwater. This is water that lies under the surface. It exists almost everywhere in the world. In some places, however, a person would have to dig much deeper to access it than in other places. In some places, it may be accessible but it may not be healthy for human consumption if it is not treated.
The level of groundwater is supplied, in part, by precipitation. When rain falls, for example, it sinks down into the ground. It is often collected in aquifers, which are natural water storage compartments formed between the rocks under the surface. Groundwater is an important water source for human consumption.
Most of the water we use, however, comes from rivers. This water source falls into a category known as surface water. This category is represented mainly by lakes but also includes swamps. Surface water represents the smallest amount of Earth’s water sources.
Written by Felicia Dye
