What is the water cycle? The water cycle is a process of recycling water!

• Water on the surface (like oceans, lakes, and rivers) evaporates into the air.
• The water that evaporates into the air then condenses into clouds.
• Eventually, the water in the clouds will fall back to earth again as precipitation like rain or snow.

As water cycles, it can pick up pollutants or contaminants. These contaminants can enter the groundwater or surface water that becomes our drinking water.

• When the water falls back to earth, it collects in a watershed. A watershed is an area of land where all the water that falls onto it or runs under it flows to one specific place, like a lake, river, or stream!
• Watersheds drain rainfall and melting snow into the nearest water body that lies at the lowest point of the watershed.
• Watersheds can be small or large, and most are interconnected, eventually draining to the large water bodies – such as bays, gulfs, oceans, and for us here in Michigan, the Great Lakes!

• Surface water is found on the top (surface) of the ground. It includes lakes, rivers, streams, creeks, and reservoirs.
• Many type 1 community public water supplies use surface water as a water source that becomes drinking water.

• Groundwater comes from precipitation (rain, hail, snow, sleet, dew, mist, or frost) that soaks into the soil.
• It travels downward through cracks and other openings in rocks and sand.
• Private residential wells and some public water supplies (type 1 community and type 3) use groundwater as a water source that becomes drinking water.
• Learn about what might be in the groundwater you drink.