This U.S. Geological Survey website offers a short article then lists topics that are linked to brief articles that describe that particular topic's effect on water quality in urban areas. Click Home to access the site in Spanish.

Students apply their understanding of the natural water cycle and the urban stormwater water cycle, as well as the processes involved in both cycles to hypothesize how the flow of water is affected by altering precipitation.

Through an overview of the components of the hydrologic cycle and the important roles they play in the design of engineered systems, students' awareness of the world's limited fresh water resources is heightened. The lesson lays the...

This website focuses on water quality issues in relation to urbanization. There are helpful links to brief articles on topics like storm runoff, wastewater, and the underground water table. Click "Water Science School HOME" to access the...

For students that have already been introduced to the water cycle, this lesson is intended as a logical follow-up. Students will learn about human impacts on the water cycle that create a pathway for pollutants beginning with urban...

This inquiry focuses on heavy metals in waterways in Colorado. Students will learn about heavy metals and data collected about them from citizen scientists, and then analyze the data in tables and maps to identify possible evidence of...

Permeability is the degree to which water or other liquids are able to flow through a material. Different substances such as soil, gravel, sand, and asphalt have varying levels of permeability. In this activity, students will explore...

This virtual field trip for middle school students looks at aquifers and their place in the hydrologic cycle. Students learn why and how it is important to protect the source of your drinking water and some unique details about the...