Other than minor differences in dissolved oxygen and temperature, there is usually little difference between groundwater and surface water in the same area. The water you draw from your well is the same water that enters the stream behind your house. The surface of a stream or pond is actually the level of the water table in the surrounding watershed. Surface and groundwater are continually exchanged through the water cycle and the two water sources are not separate.
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What is the difference between groundwater and surface water?
Last Updated: February 18, 2008
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