All The World's Water

An incredible amount of water covers Earth. Look at a globe. The blue area represents the water. There are about 200 billion liters (53 billion gallons) of water for each person on Earth!

There is not always enough water to drink, however.

Most of Earth's water is salty ocean water. Salt water is fine for sea creatures. But it is not fine for humans and most other animals.

Onli 3 percent of Earth's water is fresh water. Fresh water is an important resource that we need every day.

Water For Every Day Living

We need to drink fresh water to live. All day, we lose water from our bodies. We lose it when we sweat and and when we ger rid of waste. We dirnk water to replace the water we lose.

We use fresh water in other ways, too. Think about the water you use to wash dishes and to cook. You use water to brush your teeth. You also use water when you take a shower of bath.

Water For Farming

Farmers use fresh water to grow crops. Much of fresh water in the United States is used for farming.

My farms are in areas without much rainfall. Farmers irrigate to keep their crops alive. This means that they bring water for their crops.

Water For Building

People also use water as a resource to buil things. They use water to mix concrete for floors and walls. They use water to make the paint that adds color to buildings.

People use water to make metal and glass, too. They need these materials to make most buildings.

It All Adds Up!

People depend on fresh water every day. They use it for drinking, for growing food, and for buildings.

People in the United States use a lot of fresh water. Each person uses about 368 liters (100 gallons) of water each day. That amount would fill two and a half bathtubs. That is a lot of water!