Surface water
Surface water is water located on top of the Earth's surface such as rivers, creeks, and wetlands. This may also be referred to as blue water. The vast majority is produced by precipitation and water runoff from nearby areas. As the climate warms in the spring, snowmelt runs off towards nearby streams and rivers contributing towards a large portion of our drinking water. Levels of surface water lessen as a result of evaporation as well as water moving into the ground becoming ground-water. Alongside being used for drinking water, surface water is also used for irrigation, wastewater treatment, livestock, industrial uses, hydropower, and recreation. It is recorded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that approximately 68 percent of water provided to communities comes from surface water. For USGS water-use reports, surface water is considered freshwater when it contains less than 1,000 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of dissolved solids.