Water is the stuff of life. We use water for just about everything that we do. From the food that we grow to how we bathe to how we sustain our bodies and keep them well hydrated and fully functioning, water is essential for just about every single thing in life. Without water, we would all, simply put, die quite quickly. However, most of us in the United States take water for granted, as clean drinking water has become highly accessible – in other parts of the country, people are not so lucky, and many go without clean water access.

Clean water is actually far more scarce than most of us have actually realized. For though water covers the majority of this planet, the majority of that water is also salt water, which is not safe for human consumption and will actually lead to dehydration and, later, death. In fact, less than 5% of all of the water on Earth is fresh water and only a scant 1% of all water on the planet has been deemed to be safe for drinking, at least by humans. Therefore, our sources of fresh drinking water is quite precious indeed and, as remediation contracting services will know, the ability to get clean water must be as protected as is possible.

Unfortunately, many contaminants of concern have entered our drinking water already, even here in the United States where most people do not give a second thought to the water that they are drinking. Groundwater pollution and groundwater depletion are two main worries of remediation contracting services and the environmental remediation contractors that work for such services. After all, groundwater sources make up nearly 95% of all drinkable water throughout this country. At the current date, as much as half of the population of the country is currently getting their water from these groundwater sources, making them quite important indeed.

And environmental remediation contracting services are having to work harder than ever before, as there are many ways in which our groundwater sources are becoming more and more polluted with each passing year. For one thing, chemical spills have been known to greatly decrease the overall drinkability of many a groundwater source. And, unfortunately, these chemical spills are actually far more common than the average person might currently realize. As of the most recently gathered data, as many as 16,000 chemical spills will likely take place over the course of a single year. These chemical spills will lead to all kinds of pollutants entering our water sources and most typically occur when materials are being transferred as well as when a train or a truck crashes and tips over, which also often facilitates a chemical spill.

Other sources of groundwater contamination often come in the form of large industrial plants. In fact, the data that has been gathered on the subject more than backs this up. This data shows conclusively that more than three quarters of the industrial plants considered to be the most serious have already polluted any nearby groundwater sources. And as much as 70% of all industrial waste that is produced in this country will sadly be dumped in various groundwater sources. There is no denying, not even in the slightest, that this is hugely detrimental for the overall quality of the water that we seek to consume. After all, many of us rely on these groundwater sources to sustain our lives, and the increasing levels of pollution that they are subjected to is likely to have an effect on overall human health in this country, at least in the grand scheme of things.

Fortunately, groundwater remediation contracting services are becoming more commonplace than ever before. These groundwater remediation contracting services are working to clean up our sources of groundwater all throughout the country. And though it might be slow going, especially with more pollution still being added, many will find it comforting to know that at least some level of action is being taken. Groundwater remediation contracting services are hugely important, and such remediation services will only become more so in the years that are ahead of us.