Do you know where your drinking water comes from?

Do you know where your drinking water comes from? It’s not as simple as you might think. Here’s the journey your water takes.

If you are reading this post, water is not a problem for you. You could even have a water bottle just beside you. In any case, you can easily access water whenever you want it. However, that is only the case for a few people. Some nations are known even to ration water.

For some people, fresh drinking water is like a goldmine, and this post will take you through where drinking water originates from, how much remains, and ways of getting more water.

Water, Where Does it come from?

97 percent of the water in our planet is in the oceans and is not drinkable. Of the 3 percent that remains, 68 percent of it is found in the glaciers and ice caps. Groundwater accounts for about 30 percent, and surface water is about 1 percent.

Water in ice caps and glaciers has been stuck for centuries and is located on the south and north poles. Groundwater, also known as aquifers, is Freshwater from Mother Nature, for instance, wells. Surface water is water in the streams, lakes, and rivers. Precipitation replenishes all Freshwater except for the glaciers.

Ways of getting drinking water

All our drinking water starts as either surface water or groundwater before it concludes its journey in your water bottle. Through pumping, water goes through pipes from its primary source and finally ends up in our homes, schools, or businesses.

If you live in a large city, your water comes from a public supply. Private companies, as well as the local authority, will provide water to where you live. Thanks to the underground pipes, the water gets to your home, and you get your monthly water bill. People in upcountry areas of the U.S. rely on private water companies for their water.

The present condition of the planet’s sources of Freshwater

With the increase of contaminants and massive extraction, the quality and quantity of fresh water are declining. These activities hurt our ecosystem. For instance, freshwater species are declining, and water contaminants have already made their way into our food chain.

Depletion of Freshwater

Only 1 percent of Freshwater gets unevenly replenished by rainwater across the world. Thanks to the high freshwater demand, people are heavily extracting water from groundwater and freshwater ecosystems all over the planet.

Nature Conservancy states that water depletion is causing the depreciation of whole ecosystems, which are crucial in offering vital services to economies and societies. The agricultural industry is the primary cause of water depletion since much water extraction is used for agricultural needs.

This water extraction takes away the homes of freshwater water species. Moreover, the population of birds, fish, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles has decreased by 76 percent in the last four decades.

Desalination

Desalination is one of the methods of providing alternative sources of Freshwater. Desalination involves removing salts and other minerals from ocean water to make it safe for human consumption. With decreased freshwater sources, desalination is becoming the most popular solution for water problems.

Desalination in America

The USA has only started the implementation of desalination, especially with the opening of a plant near the coast of San Diego. This plant oozes about 50 million gallons of consumable water daily. Over 100 million gallons of ocean water from Agua Hedionda runs through the plant, and pretreatment commences. The plant uses reverse osmosis technology to remove salt from the seawater.

The only issue is Money.

It is onlyossible to conduct desalination alsomever the globe because of its expensive nature. One thousand freshwater gallons from desalination will cost you up to $5. The process of desalination also requires 200 million kWh every day. Most desalination plants need up to 10 kWh of energy to produce a single freshwater cubic meter.

It is not as easy as you think.

Therefore, when you reach for a cup of water, remember that it comes from an infinite source within our planet. Refrain from letting yourself be comfortable since the present sources are being overstretched. One answer to our water problem is desalination; however, this solution is more challenging than you think. It is costly and consumes a lot of energy.