Earth's Water Basics

96.5 % of earths water is just the oceans.

2.5% of earths water is freshwater.

1.2% of freshwater is surface water.

30.1% of freshwater is ground water.

68.7% of earths freshwater makes up glaciers and ice caps.

Water Quality

Water Quality refers to the chemical, physical, biological, and radio-logical characteristics of water.

The Safe Drinking Water Act authorizes EPA to issue two types of standards.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water that must provide the same protection for public health.

Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is electricity that is made by the movement of water

This electricity can be made very quickly

A bad part about hydroelectricity is that building large dams to hold water can damage the environment.

Some good parts about hydroelectricity are that the way the electricity is produced does not harm the environment as much as fossil fuels like coal or oil do, it is also very powerful and safe, it produces no waste.

The Water Cycle

The water cycle is very complicated, and water goes from clouds then turns into precipitation and runs off into the rivers and oceans fog and dew H20. This is some of the things that happen in the water cycle.

Water Use

Fresh water is a renewable resource yet the worlds supply of ground water is steadily decreasing. We use water for bathing, drinking, washing, cooking, and so much more we dont even realize how much water we use a day. The quantity of fresh water that is available to given country with out exceeding the rate at which it is renewed.

Water Properties

Fresh water accounts for only 2.5% of the Earths water and and most of it is frozen in glaciers. The average amount available per person varies from less than 50m3 per year in parts of the middle east to over 100,000m3 per year in humid and sparsely populated areas.