With underground water supplies you can access water which does not take up surface water which takes up valuable farming land. In small countries this is particularly important as the more area for farming the better. When surface water such as rivers and lakes are used for house and drinking water many lakes water levels are lowered to dangerously low levels which could kill many types of animal species in these areas. The water has an abundance of minerals in it which are lost when the water level goes down which can not be leached into the soil from lakes and rivers. When living in large metropolis areas such as Tucson, Miami, Phoenix, and Memphis where there are not many lakes located in the middle of the large cities and thus they have to get there water from somewhere else. Without groundwater many cities in this area would not exist, as there is no fresh water sources nearby causing them to have to drill for water. The use of groundwater also helps nature as it helps in the prevention of flooding. When area's need water they look to surface water and if there is none they use groundwater. If there is not much water in an area they will damn the water source and it will flood the land killing many animals and there homes. By using groundwater they save animals homes and get good drinking water. Groundwater also has its problems. There may be more problems than advantages as so much can happen if groundwater is used excessively. When an aquifer is drained enough the earth around it will start to lose it's support causing sinkholes. These can cause lot of damage to personal property and endanger human life. In Winter park, Florida a sinkhole occurred that was 400 hundred feet wide and 125 feet deep. Sinkholes can happen in seconds and often have no warning to when they are going to appear. Many regions that experience sinkholes do not feel the full effect of sinkholes. This is because the land sinks over periods of time, which most people can not detect.
