Groundwater Pollution Teacher Resources

In this groundwater pollution activity, students use a piece of bread to represent the earth, food coloring to represent contaminants in the ground and water to simulate the movement of pollutants with water through the ground. Students...

Students research the effects of groundwater pollutants on life. They name and describe 1 environmental factor that has an effect on our drinking water. Students read the Water-Groundwater and Pollution Article. They discuss and...

Students explore the impact of groundwater pollution on health. They examine the carcinogenic contaminants and their possible sources. Students develop methods to lessen or eliminate the pollutants from the environment.

With almost half of Americans relying on groundwater supplies, it is more important than ever to protect aquifers from possible contaminants. Working in small groups, young environmentalists explore this problem as they create an aquifer...

Young scientists create their very own aquifers in this science lesson on ground water. After learning about how some people get their drinking water from underground wells, young learners use sand, modeling clay, and aquarium rocks to...

Investigate the amazing ability of plants to filter contaminants from water with this series of in-class demonstrations. After placing six small, potted plants in plastic cups, different solutions and mixtures are poured into them that...

Intended as a follow up to the Protecting Your Drinking Water activity, young environmentalists use their assessment of the a hypothetical town's water supply to debate the installation of underground chemical storage tanks. With the...

Students examine how environmental engineers determine possible sites for drinking water wells. They listen to a teacher led-lecture, and create their own groundwater well model using a coffee can and wire screening, observing how...

Learners build a model that depicts how water is stored in an aquifer. They examine ways in which groundwater can become contaminated.

Students watch a demonstration with a balloon filled with water being buried in a milk container that has been cut length wise and filled with sand. Students are told that there is an underground storage tank filled with a contaminate...

Students identify several sources of contaminants to groundwater. They discuss the movement of possible contaminants through that groundwater from outside sources. They describe how environmental engineers analyze contaminants to...

Students discuss how groundwater becomes polluted. In groups, they design and create models of groundwater pollution sources. They demonstrate to the class how the water may become contaminated from local and nonlocal pollution sources.

What are the issues surrounding water quality? Viewers of this short presentation gain information about the importance of clean water, the lack of fresh water, water contamination, and ways that engineers treat water. 

Students evaluate the potential problems associated with underground storage tanks. They research the potential hazards from various subsurface pollutants and simulate a superfund site cleanup.

Having a clean, reliable source of drinking water is essential for any community, but in many cases this is easier said than done. Engage young environmentalists in exploring the five factors affecting vulnerability of a groundwater...

High schoolers determine how pollutants can travel though sediment and explore methods of pollutant removal. They conduct an experiment on porosity and permeability of soils and simulate an EPA "pump and treat" method for removing...

Students participate in an interactive model in order to discover the geologic structure and properties of aquifers, the movement of groundwater, and the methods by which geologists recognize point and non-point sources of pollution.

Learners examine the problem of groundwater pollution. In groups, they develop a solution to solve the problem of a local polluted water source. They also practice measuring the space between sediment particles and the rate of water flow.

Learn about the consequences of groundwater with a lesson about the different ways California handles water conservation and pollution. After reading a passage about the water table, learners apply what they have read to six...

Young scholars study how a geologist examines a hazardous waste spill using an actual site. They use site data to map the spill, find its source and determine how fast the spill is spreading.

Students complete a unit on the effects of pollution on our water supply. They create a graph to examine the density of earth's land surface, round the population to the nearest hundred million place, participate in a...

Middle schoolers measure the pH of soil samples from a hypothetical site to locate a contaminant spill and will predict the direction of groundwater flow using mathematical modeling. They use the engineering design process to develop...

Students use stream trays covered in different types of rocks or soil to investigate infiltrates and runoff. In this water pollution activity, students work in groups with stream trays that have different substrates. They write a...

Young scholars develop an awareness of what happens to water contaminated through neighborhood runoffs. Students perform an experiment that shows what happens to runoff when it's diverted to different places.