National Groundwater Awareness Week

This past week has been National Groundwater Awareness Week, and the Permian Basin Underground Water Conservation District says the annual event serves as a reminder for water well owners to test, tend, and treat their private water systems.

Water is one of the world's most precious resources, and groundwater is an essential resource in Texas that needs to be protected and preserved. People use water every day for many activities, such as drinking, bathing, recreation, agriculture, cooling, manufacturing, and medical uses.

Although water plays an essential role in everyday life, many people don't realize that much of their water comes from the ground. 95 percent of Texans depend on public drinking water supplies, and 17 percent of that supply – 991 million gallons per day – is from groundwater, serving over 4,965,160 Texans.

Also, 1,320,000 Texans rely on groundwater from their own wells for their drinking water, and use 137 million gallons per day.

Only 2.5 percent of the water on the earth is fresh. Of this small amount, 68.9 percent is locked in glaciers, 30.8 percent is groundwater, and lakes and rivers make up only 0.3%.

For more information, visit https:// tgpc.texas.gov or visit the Permian Basin UWCD office in Stanton, Texas.