What is an Aquifer?
We live, work, and play over our drinking water. Help us protect it.
An aquifer is a saturated underground rock layer with enough available water that can be pumped out or flow from underground as a spring.
Aquifers, like the Spokane Valley Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer are replenished by the hydrologic (water) cycle. Aquifers can span several hundred square miles, or be less than one square mile. They can have a thickness of just a few feet or several thousand feet. No matter the size of the aquifer there are several key elements required if it is to be useable by humans including the following:
- An underground rock layer and zone of saturation that accumulates and stores water
- Enough stored water is available to pump from the aquifer to the surface.