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Less than 1 percent of all water on Earth is available and clean enough to drink. The rest is either salty or frozen. Water is used:

• By plants, both wild and farmed
• By animals and people
• To manufacture products
• To transport vessels on rivers, lakes and oceans

Water is constantly being recycled. The water cycle includes:

• Evaporation
• Condensation
• Precipitation
• Runoff
• Infiltration
• Percolation
  

A person could survive a month without food, but less than a week without water.

Water is one of our planet's most valuable resources.

Why is there a shortage of water? Two reasons:

• Supply — The amount of water is the same as in the past, but the quality is not as good.
• Demand — We use 70 percent of our water for growing crops. With more and more people on Earth, the way we use the water affects how much is available.

On average, Americans consume 150 gallons of water each day. Only one-half gallon (less than 0.5 percent) is used for drinking. The other 149.5 gallons are used for cleaning, cooking, bathing, flushing, watering the lawn and washing cars — or simply run down the drain unnecessarily.

How much water does it take?

• To take a bath: 36 gallons each time
• To flush a toilet: 1.6 to 6 gallons per flush, depending on the model
• To brush your teeth: 3 gallons per minute
• To hand-wash dishes: 3 gallons per minute
• To run the dishwasher: 6 gallons each load
• To wash clothes in the washing machine: 48 gallons each load
• To water the lawn or other outside uses: 10 gallons per minute