- The total volume of water on Earth is about 1.4 billion km3, with freshwater accounting for about 35 million km3 or 2.5% of the total. - About 70% of the world's freshwater is stored as ice/snow, while 30% is underground as groundwater. Freshwater lakes and rivers contain about 0.3% of the world's freshwater. - Water usage is mainly for irrigation (70%), industry (22%), and domestic use (8%). Over 894 million people worldwide lack access to the minimum recommended daily amount of safe freshwater.

1. Water Did you know?

2. Water Reserves on Earth The total volume of water on Earth is about 1.4 billion km3. The volume of freshwater resources is around 35 million km3, or about 2.5 percent of the total volume. Source: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

4. Of these freshwater resources, about 24 million km3 or 70 percent is in the form of ice and permanent snow cover in mountainous regions, the Antarctic and Arctic regions. Source: UNEP

5. Around 30 percent of the world's freshwater is stored underground in the form of groundwater (shallow and deep groundwater basins up to 2 000 metres, soil moisture, swamp water and permafrost). Freshwater lakes and rivers contain an estimated 105 000 km3 or around 0.3 percent of the world's freshwater. Source: UNEP

7. Water usage How the world uses freshwater: ･ about 70 percent for irrigation ･ about 22 percent for industry ･ about 8 percent for domestic use Source: World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP)

8. Water withdrawals are predicted to increase by 50 percent by 2025 in developing countries, and 18 per cent in developed countries. Source: Global Environment Outlook: environment for development (GEO-4)

9. The UN suggests that each person needs 20-50 litres of safe freshwater a day to ensure their basic needs for drinking, cooking and cleaning. Source: World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) More than one in six people worldwide - 894 million - don't have access to this amount of safe freshwater. Source: World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) Joint Monitoring Programme on Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP)

11. How much water do you need every day? Think about it. What do you need water for? Drinking? Cooking? Cleaning? Flushing your toilet?

12. The daily drinking water requirement per person is 2-4 litres but it takes 2 000 to 5 000 litres of water to produce one person's daily food. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

14. Water contaminants Every day, 2 million tons of human waste are disposed of in water courses. Source: World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) In developing countries, 70 percent of industrial wastes are dumped untreated into waters where they pollute the usable water supply. Source: WWAP

15. More children die every year from water borne infections than the combined numbers that die from HIV/AIDS, malaria, war and car accidents Source: BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter 2010

16. Projected increases in fertilizer use for food production and in wastewater effluents over the next three decades suggest there will be a10-20 per cent global increase in river nitrogen flows to coastal ecosystems. Source: Global Environment Outlook: environment for development (GEO-4)

17. Wastes from industrial runoff into lakes, rivers and streams include asbestos, mercury, arsenic lead and many others. Wastes from agriculture that seep into groundwater and contaminate water reserves include herbicides, insecticides fungicides, which are all toxins to humans and other animals.

18. Consequences Half of the world's wetlands have been lost since 1900. Source: WWAP

19. 85 First Nations communities in Canada have water systems that were in a high-risk category Close to 100 communities have “boil water” advisories on them Source: BCTF Social Justice Newsletter 2010

20. The township of Robson (across the river from Castlegar) has had a “boil water” advisory for at least 10 years.

21. Canada has rejected a UN initiative to declare water a human right. Is that right?

22. Discussion Questions Is water the source of life, why? What properties of water make water the prime ingredient of life? What is the role of water in supporting life? Is water essential for life? Is there a life form involving no water?

23. Water treatment How does ….

24. Become……

25. Is water a right? Or is it a privilege? How can we make fresh, clean water accessible to everyone on our planet? What kind of illnesses are caused by unsafe water? How can we prevent water borne illnesses?