"Pure water is the world's first and foremost medicine." -Slovakian Proverb
When speaking of water found in nature what one tends to think of are the rivers, lakes, oceans and the like. And that is quite unfortunate since a significant portion of the planet’s freshwater is stored within underground aquifers. These play a crucial role in providing water for our agricultural, industrial and domestic uses. Understanding aquifers, and their importance is essential in order to take steps that move the needle in terms of conserving the environment and managing water sustainably.
What Are Aquifers?
An underground layer of porous or permeable rocks that store and retain groundwater or store and transmit groundwater to wells and springs is called an aquifer.
They are made up of materials such as sand, gravel, limestone or fractured rock. The water within an aquifer is replenished through a process known as “recharge” where precipitation and surface water penetrate the ground, moving through soil and rock layers to reach the aquifer.
Unconfined
An aquifer is unconfined if it is open to the surface. The groundwater in them is in direct contact with the atmosphere and as such more prone to contamination. On the bright side, they are easier to recharge.
Confined
Confined aquifers, on the other hand, are closed off above and below by impermeable layers of rock or clay. These aquifers are typically under higher pressure and can create artesian wells, where water flows to the surface without pumping. They are also protected from contamination and pollutants.
The Himalayan source Hege - Natural Mineral Water comes from is one example of a confined aquifer.
Natural Mineral Water
But what is meant by the term “natural mineral water”? It describes water that is not only mineral-rich without any human interventions, but also wasn’t artificially processed due to its purity.
Continuing upon the example of Hege and the confined Himalayan aquifer they source from, their water becomes mineral-rich as it passes through the earth’s layer. Minerals there like Calcium, Magnesium, Bicarbonates and more are absorbed by the water from their ores as it finds its way into the open space below and of course turning naturally alkaline, the way how water is meant to be.
It is a beautiful process and one that takes 20 years from the surface of the mountains to the safe, protected space of a confined aquifer before it gets bottled by Hege at the source.
Formation and Structure
The formation of an aquifer is a result of geological processes that occur over millions of years.
One way is through sedimentation. Deposition of sediments in ancient riverbeds, deltas and coastal areas are buried and compacted over time. And that ends up creating layers of permeable material capable of storing water.
The structures of these water resources vary depending on their geological history. Some are extensive and continuous, covering large geographical areas, and then there are those that are more localised. The key features, structure-wise, include the recharge zone (where water enters the aquifer), the storage zone (where water is held) and the discharge zone (where water exits into wells, springs or other water bodies).
Importance of Aquifers
Aquifers are of critical importance for many reasons.
- They provide a reliable source of freshwater for human consumption. And in many regions, they are the primary source of drinking water. In more temperate regions, aquifers serve as a backup for periods of drought.
- Aquifers support agriculture. Irrigation depends heavily on groundwater, particularly in areas where surface water resources are scarce or unreliable. The agricultural productivity of regions like the Central Valley in California, the Great Plains in the United States, and the Punjab region in India rely heavily on groundwater extraction from aquifers.
- Aquifers maintain the flow of rivers and wetlands during dry periods. This is essential for sustaining ecosystems and the biodiversity they support. Many streams and rivers would dry up without the contribution of groundwater.
Major Aquifers Of The World
And speaking of their impact on human livelihood and ecology, there are some that contribute more than others. The California Institute of Technology names 37 aquifers as the major ones based on their groundwater storage trends.
One name in particular might be found quite familiar. The Indus Basin. The mountainous areas of Hindu Kush, Himalaya and Karakoram are what together make up the basin. And it supports over 300 million people across India and Pakistan.
And to name a few from the rest, there still are:
The Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin
This aquifer lies in the east side of the Indian subcontinent and quite a few tributaries from Ganga and Brahmaputra form it. Together with the Indus Basin, it serves the irrigation and usage needs of a majority of the Indian population.
The Paris Basin
The Paris Basin is 140,000 sq km in size and encircles the City Of Light. And Joris Popineau, a geothermal reservoir engineer, brings up a rather interesting effect one normally doesn’t equate with basins, and that is that the Paris Basin has been “supplying geothermal heat to over 250,000 homes” for over forty years.
The Arabian Aquifer System
About 84% of the total freshwater used across the Arabian Peninsula comes from this aquifer. And almost 90% of the water withdrawn from it goes into agriculture.
The Amazon Basin
This aquifer stretches across the equator and is characterised by a hot, wet and humid climate. It also covers about 34% of the land of South America.
Unpolluted, Untouched
Aquifers around the world are many, just the transboundary aquifers (aquifers that cross national borders) are almost 600, and within India nothing rivals the Himalayas when it comes to good, mineral-rich water. And a confined aquifer just improves upon that by assuring that the water is free of contaminants and as safe as drinking water can be.
Himalayan is the way to go, and Hege - Natural Mineral Water is the ideal water to drink.