Question

What are the two major types of water?

Answer 1

Following are the two major types of water,

1. Groundwater

1. Groundwater refers to the water present beneath the earth's surface filling the pores and cracks present in the rocks.
2. Groundwater is present in soils that can retain it. It accounts for around 1.7% of the total water present on the planet.
3. The depth at which the pores and cracks in the rocks and soil become completely saturated with water is called the water table.
4. Groundwater makes up around 22% of the water that we use. It has mostly agricultural, municipal and industrial use.
5. In India, about 90% of extracted groundwater is used for irrigation.

2. Surface water

1. Surface water is the water that is present on the Earth's surface in rivers, streams, lakes, oceans, glaciers etc.
2. Due to its ease of access, surface water provides around 78% of the freshwater used by us.
3. Oceans contain 96.5% of the total water present on Earth and glaciers contain around 1.7%.