In this activity, students play the roles of investigators looking for the source of fuel that is contaminating wells in a fictional town. They will use a topographic map and information about groundwater flow and well locations to determine the source of the pollution. Questions help students understand how groundwater flows and how a contamination plume spreads over time. In an extension to the ... Full description.

Students will examine data in several formats in order to determine the presence or absence of seasonal variability in tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations. The dataset used in this lesson is monthly averages of NO2 as measured from NASA's EOS Aura spacecraft. Full description.

Students participating in this lab activity will construct a simulated aquifer in the classroom. The aquifer is constructed from readily available materials, and instructions, data sheets, vocabulary, and diagrams are provided. This simple model is intended for student inquiry into groundwater systems. Students are instructed to try things (within the context of the model), observe what happens, and ... Full description.

Materials presented here outline basic concepts related to groundwater, answering questions like "What is groundwater?" and "What is an aquifer?" More detailed topics include groundwater quality, sources of contamination, engineering problems presented by groundwater, and safeguards to the groundwater supply. A bibliography and links to other water-related sites are included. A French translation ... Full description.

These curriculum materials are from The Water Sourcebook series, a popular set of hands-on water environment activities. The activities, arranged by grade level, range from construction of a big book about water in the life of a fish for younger students to the exploration of the physics of artesian flow for older learners. Topics include the water cycle, conservation, consumption, contamination, ... Full description.

This slide show provides information to guide pesticide users in applying pesticides in a manner that will protect groundwater as much as possible from contamination. The slide show covers properties of pesticides, soil, and groundwater that are likely to worsen contamination and provides suggestions for handling and applying them. Other topics include basic geology of groundwater and potential health ... Full description.

This map gallery contains a set of maps depicting water use in the United States for the year 2000. The maps are thematic in nature, with different colors used to represent ranges of data values. There are maps depicting usage for a variety of purposes: total use, domestic and public supply, irrigation and livestock, industry and mining, electric power generation, and aquaculture. This is part of ... Full description.

This EPA site is a small portal to a variety of groundwater and drinking education resources. Major topics include local drinking water, source water protection, drinking water standards, public drinking water systems and underground injection control. The Kids Stuff portion of this site has games and activities, kid's health, classroom activities and experiments, and a Spanish language section. There ... Full description.

The ILEC promotes sustainable management of the world's lakes and reservoirs. This site offers information and links to training programs, conferences and publications that address the health and status of lakes around the world. The World Lake Database provides an alphabetical listing of lakes around the world. Data is provided for various parameters from size and area to water quality. An on-line ... Full description.

BASIN is a local community service network offering public access to environmental information. BASIN's initial focus is on water in Boulder County, CO: where it comes from, goes to and how it is used. Watershed, recreation, precipitation, personal action, and community uses are major focuses in this site. Full description.