How Is Water Filtered Through an Aquifer?
An aquifer is similar to a large, underground sponge made of sand, gravel and rock. Water is absorbed by -- then travels through -- an aquifer. As water travels through it, the aquifer acts as a natural filter to remove sediment and particles. Does this Spark an idea?
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Water Movement
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Spaces exist between the materials that comprise an aquifer. Water can fill these spaces and seep through the aquifer at varying rates. Some aquifers pass water along as quickly as 50 feet per year while others move as slowly as 50 feet per century. The degree of porosity determines how rapidly water travels through the aquifer.
Water Filtration
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As with other filters, the spaces or pores between sand, rock and gravel are small enough to allow liquid to pass through while preventing larger materials from doing so. And, like any filter, an aquifer's success in removing particles is only as good as the size of the pores. Bacteria, for example, often gets through an aquifer filter as do larger, undissolved particles like metals and some minerals.
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Minerals in Aquifers
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Some aquifers have an abundance of elements already present in sand and gravel. These materials can leach into the water. Iron, for example, is often present in wells tapped into an aquifer, and its presence is detected by the taste it imparts in drinking water.
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References
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