One important factor in dealing with HC surface and ground water supplies is the differences in surface water flow and tributary ground water flow. In Nebraska, for example, stream-flow may move twenty-five miles per day or more, whereas ground water flow may be 300 feet per year.hen the aquifer is, say, twenty feet higher than the stream, the ground water will flow toward the stream more quickly than if the aquifer is only one foot higher than the stream.
Why Water Is Called the Universal Solvent Water dissolves more chemicals than any other solvent because its polar nature gives each molecule a hydophobic (water-fearing) and hydrophilic (water-loving) side.
For this reason it was also considered by the alchemists to be a universal solvent, a notion modern science echoes precisely. There are two forms of alchemical water, says Socrates, but both are described as 'fire' and 'water' in a single substance.