An overview of looming worldwide fresh water shortages. Facts and figures that tell the story of the causes, impacts, and challenges we will all face in our future as populations grow and water resources change and shift.

1. The Problem with Water

2. Every year, there are 83 million more people on earth.

3. The amount of moisture on Earth has not changed.

4. The water T-Rex drank millions of years ago…

5. …is the same water we drink today.

6. 97.5% …is salt water

7. 2.5% … is fresh water

8. Earth has 9.25 million trillion gallons of fresh water. 9,250,000,000,000,000,000 (quintillion)

9. …but 69.6% is Frozen

10. 30.1% …is below the ground

11. …and only .3% is in rivers, lakes and wetlands

12. We use two-thirds to grow food.

13. Globally, 1 out of 8 people lack access to clean water.

14. Annually, 3.3 million people die from water related health problems.

15. 46% of the population does not have water piped to their homes.

16. 3.7 Miles Women in developing countries walk an average of 3.7 miles a day to get water.

17. The high cost of water.

18. Getting the salt out.

19. 16 billion gallons of water are desalinated daily.

20. 300 million people get water from desalination. More than twice the number than a decade ago.

21. Worldwide, there are 14,450 desalination plants.

22. Why aren’t there more plants?

23. It’s VERY Expensive

24. But… new technology has driven down the cost of desalination. Researchers are now developing three new technologies that require less energy!

25. But, there are side effects Desalination waste,a triple concentrated brine solution, is toxic to sea plants, small sea creatures that other sea animals and species are dependent on.

26. Worldwide, dam projects have displaced up to 80 million people.

27. The weight of China’s 3-Gorges Reservoir, will tilt the earth’s axis by nearly an inch.

28. Annually, more than 265 billion gallons of raw sewage were dumped into the Yangtze River and flushed downstream into the ocean.

29. The sewage is now backed up in the reservoir by the Three Gorges Dam.

30. More than 1,600 factories and abandoned mines are now submerged by the Three Gorges Dam.

31. Environmentalists predict that toxins associated with these factories and mines will create a hazard for the animals and people who depend on the river for survival.

32. The Itaipu Dam in South America cost $18 billion and took 17 years to build.

33. Western states, especially California, are under increasing pressure to find new and reliable sources of fresh water.

34. California’s pumps, canals, pipes, dams, and tunnels serve two-thirds of the population.

35. The California Aqueduct serves 23 million.

36. A major earthquake could slash the water supply for two-thirds of California.

37. The Heat is on.

38. Whether you subscribe to global warming theories or not, the world’s fresh water supply is declining.

39. Glaciers feed vital fresh water caches all over the world.

40. It’s no secret, glaciers are diminishing.

41. Deserts are expanding!

42. Every week, the world’s decaying infrastructure leaks billions of gallons of water.

43. The 85 mile New York Water Tunnel leaks up to 35 million gallons a day.

44. U.S. pools loose 150 billion gallons of water per year to evaporation.

45. 2 Billion gallons of water is used every day for golf course irrigation in the U.S.

46. 3,000 gallons of water are used for each game of golf played in Florida.

47. In nearly every corner of the world, aquifers are being drained faster than their natural rate of recharge.

48. A growing number of people in the world rely on bottled water for their primary drinking water. The Dominican Republic (67%) and Laos (52%) are the counties with the highest percentage of reliance.

49. Reservoir levels are dropping, especially in the western U.S.

50. Earlier this year, water was discovered on the moon … …but, who can afford 110 million, 12 foot sections of piping to get it back to earth?

51. Americans use an average of 100 gallons of water per day at home. The poorest countries use less than 5 gallons.

52. There are no easy solutions…

53. …but each of us can change how we use water.

54. You can be part of the solution. Here are a few resources: wateruseitwisely.com watersavingtips.org wikihow.com/Save-Water h2ouse.org bewaterwise.com

55. The Problem with Water Created by Al Bonner – Presentation Transformations