Water Trails & Water Pollution

Water Pollution - Water Basics

Before we dive into our pool of water pollution facts, it will be helpful to do a quick review of the different types of water in general:

• Ocean Water: The vast majority of water on the planet is the salt water in the oceans and seas.

• Fresh Surface Water: This is the fresh water in rivers, streams, lakes, ponds and similar bodies of water. (Almost all of these contain fresh water, though a few lakes contain salty water.) Technically, the world's ice caps and glaciers also fall into this category , and actually contain very, very large amounts of fresh water.

• Groundwater: The majority of the planet's liquid freshwater is stored in underground aquifers. It's important to remember that groundwater pollution is very difficult to treat, and it doesn't just "flush out" on its own. Water that enters an aquifer remains there for an average of 1,400 years!