Forest water quality : making every drop count.

              What's in a forest? TREES, of course!
But what helps those trees grow? WATER
Forests are very special because they not only need water to grow, just like you and me,
but forests also help to protect, filter and absorb water.
Where does all the water go?
First, anytime it rains, the water lands on the ground and can do one of two things:
1. The water can soak into the ground - this is called infiltration.
Once the water infiltrates into the ground, the trees soak up water out of the ground through the
roots. This is called absorption.
2. The water can run along the top of the ground surface - this is called runoff. Runoff can carry
dirt, trash, chemicals and other pollution along with the water and flow into a stream or pond.
This runoff process creates Non- Point Source pollution.
It is very important to not cut, trample, or damage tree roots,
because this is the main way that trees take in the water they need to grow.
Non- Point Source pollution can be
prevented by slowing down or trapping runoff before it starts to flow across the ground.
But not all of the water gets absorbed by the tree roots. Sometimes, the extra water will slowly trickle
down into the deep soil. This is called percolation. The soil in the ground is like a giant sponge, and can
hold a large amount of percolated water. All of this extra water in the soil is stored, deep below the
ground surface and is called ground water. In many places of North Carolina, families use wells to tap
into ground water near their homes for drinking and taking a bath.
Because of this, it is very important that you don't pour out oil, chemicals, paints, or other polluting fluids
onto the ground - - these dangerous ingredients can pollute the groundwater, or could become part of
Non- Point Source pollution.
Find out what kind of water you use at home, and ask an adult to help you see if
there are any dangerous items that might be polluting your water.
Take a large, dry sponge and slowly drip water onto the top of it.
Watch as the water into the sponge, then down and across
the sponge. When the water soaks all the way through the bottom, it has become
When the sponge is totally soaked through, the water will start to
along the top.
infiltrates percolates
groundwater.
runoff
Activities:
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