Superbugs

"Superbugs" is a term used to describe strains of bacteria that are resistant to the majority of antibiotics commonly used today.

• Resistant bacteria that cause pneumonia, urinary tract infections and skin infections are just a few of the dangers we now face.
• Antibiotic resistance is a naturally occurring phenomenon that can be slowed, but not stopped. Over time, bacteria adapt to the drugs that are designed to kill them and change to ensure their survival.
• This makes previously standard treatments for bacterial infections less effective, and in some cases, ineffective.

Certain actions may accelerate the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as:

• Using or misusing antibiotics
• Having poor infection prevention and control practices
• Living or working in unsanitary conditions
• Mishandling food

Spring

• A spring is a place where water naturally flows out of the ground.
• This comes from the German word 'springer,' which means 'to leap from the ground.'
• They are an important part of both the water cycle and the ecosystems they're found in, they're actually somewhat rare.
• A spring is the result of an aquifer being filled to the point that the water overflows onto the land surface.
• They range in size from intermittent seeps, which flow only after much rain, to huge pools flowing hundreds of millions of gallons daily.

Aquifers

Aquifers hold billions of gallons of water and feed water bodies on the surface, like lakes and rivers.

Types of Aquifers

There are two types of aquifers: confined and unconfined.

• Confined Aquifers are sandwiched between two layers of low permeability soil. This means that the water coming into the ground does not flow directly into or out of the aquifer since the soil around it doesn't allow much water to pass through.
• Unconfined Aquifers are those into which water seeps from the ground surface directly above the aquifer.

• All aquifers are at least partially unconfined aquifers because they wouldn't be filled with water if they didn't have a source feeding them.
• These aquifers are underneath permeable soil layers, so water easily trickles through the ground into the aquifer.