Water resource

Because of its extensive ability to dissolve a wide variety of molecules, water has earned the designation "universal solvent." It is this ability that makes water such an invaluable, life-sustaining force.

Its use is not only crucial for life from a biological point of view, but also for the support and maintenance of social structures.

Water covers about 71% of the Earth's surface. 97% of the Earth's water is in the oceans (too salty to drink, to grow crops, and for most industrial uses except refrigeration). Only 3% of the water on Earth is freshwater, and 2.5% of the freshwater on Earth is unavailable: It is trapped in glaciers, polar ice caps, the atmosphere, and the ground, heavily polluted, or too far below the Earth's surface to be extracted at an affordable cost.

This means that only 0.5% of the earth's water is available as freshwater. This means that high-income countries worldwide use 59 percent of their water for industrial use, while low-income countries use only 8 percent. But they, too, have an increasing demand for fresh water.

Because of the importance of water in supporting and sustaining society and the current scarcity of freshwater resources, its use must be carefully planned, and whenever possible, water consumed or used in processes must be reclaimed.