While more than 70% of our planet is covered in water, only a small percent of this water is usable freshwater. (eScience Lab 2, 2012) Most of our freshwater is frozen in glaciers at the poles, which means that it is not a viable option because melting them would disrupt the delicate balance of that ecosystem. The small percentage of fresh water that is accessible is stored underground in aquifers. These aquifers collect precipitation like rain water and water from melted snowfalls and stores it in ducts and pores, layers beneath the earth’s surface. When you think about the fact that there are over seven billion human being on this earth and countless other species that depend on freshwater to live and how little there actually is that alone is legitimate cause for alarm. In addition a lot of our technological advances, which have enabled us to feed a growing population by using chemicals to grow more crops, can threatened and potentially contaminate our freshwater supply. A good example of this as explained by Turk & Bensel 2011, is the fact that nitrogen and phosphorus are important crop nutrients, and farmers apply large amounts to cropland each year. They can enter water resources through runoff and leaching and affect water quality through eutrophication, which can result in decreased oxygen levels, fish kills, clogged pipelines, and reduced recreational opportunities. Another reason why water quality research is so important is because growing urban water demands have long clashed with the needs of agriculture and navigation, and climate change is expected to ratchet up the tension, causing wilder swings between drought and flood even in regions that may not get drier overall. (Reardon & Hodson, 2013) With consistent climate change, global warming, depleted aquifers and a world population rising faster than the amount of freshwater we produce these are