Water incidentally added to a groundwater aquifer due to human activities, such as excess irrigation water applied to fields or water discharged as waste after a use. See also recharge, artificial recharge, natural recharge. Natural recharge generally comes from snowmelt and storm runoff. See also recharge, artificial recharge, incidental recharge. A use that leaves the water available for other uses.
Examples are power generation and recreational uses.
See consumptive use. A source of water pollution that originates from a broad area, such as agricultural chemicals applied to fields or acid rain. See point source. A measure of the relative acidity or alkalinity of water. A plant whose roots generally extend downward to the water table which customarily feeds on the capillary fringe.