What is the natural source of water formed when water from an aquifer percolates up to the ground surface?

Prepare for the American Water Works Water Treatment Plant Operator Test. Study with multiple choice questions, each with hints and explanations. Get ready to excel!

Groundwater in an aquifer can rise to the surface and emerge as a natural discharge—this natural outlet is a spring. Springs occur where groundwater intersects the ground surface and flows out without pumping, making it a natural source formed by water moving upward from the aquifer. A well is a man-made borehole used to access groundwater and bring it to the surface by pumping, not by a natural upward discharge. Rivers and streams are surface-water features fed by runoff and upstream sources, not direct products of groundwater percolating up.