Where Does My Water Go?

Geologist, soil scientist and hydrologist types and any other wiki-type subject matter experts; where does my water go and is it really wasted?

For those of us on rural wells and septic systems and who do not simply have water and waste disapear down a big pipe, we would like to know some thing. If we turn on our faucet, and our well pumps water from the ground, and we then flush it down our toilet, where and how does it get transported -- in layman terms.

Our thinking might be, a gallon of water comes up and then goes back down, so is the water wasted from an environmental perspective?

Put another way, if we take a gallon out of the aquifer and then return it to the ground, what really happens? We all know water movers, flows and migrates. Have we permanently removed a gallon from the aquifer for it never to be returned? And, what is the real impact of taking a gallon out to begin with, especially if it is done slowly? Or, if it is done slowly, but there are hundreds of homes on say 1-2 acre parcels?

Can you 'go figure' this for us and tell us in layman's terms. We see it go back down in the soil, but "where does my water really go?"

Goodnight from Maine, USA