Available Types of Fresh Water

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the three major types of fresh water that are available for human use
the percentages of use associated with each type of water
a definition of an aquifer
a definition of recycled water

Types of Fresh Water

Surface water provides 54 percent of water used in Arizona. The state’s major surface water resources include the Colorado River, as well as the Salt, Verde, Gila, San Pedro, Bill Williams, Santa Cruz, Little Colorado, and Agua Fria rivers.The state’s other major source of fresh water can be found in vast groundwater aquifers. Below a certain depth, the ground, if it is permeable enough to hold water, is saturated with water. The upper surface of this zone of saturation is called the water table. The saturated zone beneath the water table is called an aquifer, and aquifers are huge storehouses of water.

Aquifers provide about 43 percent of the water supply. We do not know how much water is really available. It depends on location, depth and quality. Arizona’s groundwater accumulated during hundreds of thousands of years before humans developed the technology to pump it, and Arizona has historically pumped more water from the ground than nature can recharge through rain and snowmelt.

Recycled water, which is wastewater treated to suitable reuse standards, comprises three percent of the Arizona’s water supply and its use is growing.

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