A Quarter Of The Worlds Population Is Without Safe Drinking Water
Interesting facts about water and the treatment of:
- A quarter of the worlds population is without safe drinking water.
- Less than 1% of the water treated by public water systems is used for drinking and cooking.
- In the time it took you to read these first three facts another child has just died in the developing world from unsafe drinking water.
- According to NASA the natural rotation of the Earth has been altered slightly by some 10 trillion tons of water stored in reservoirs over the past 40 years.
- Water makes up 75% of the human brain.
75% of trees are also made from water! - Water expands by 9% when it freezes, making it less dense, which is why ice floats on water.
- You could live for a month without food, but you would be dead after a week without water!
- In the United States forty-eight million people receive their drinking water from private or household wells.
- 500,000 tons of pollutants pour into lakes and rivers each day in the US alone.
- Once it evaporates, a water molecule spends around ten days in the air.
- If you donated £10 or $15 to providing Safe Water that would be enough to give one person safe water for life.
- 1 Gallon (approx 5 litres) of oil can cause an eight-acre oil slick if spilled or dumped down a storm sewer!
- 97% of the worlds water is salty or otherwise undrinkable, 2% is stored in glaciers and the ice caps, the remaining 1% is left for humanity's needs.
- Average domestic water consumption = 157 litres per day.
- Average daily cost per household = 81 pence per day.
- The average household water bill has increased 39.
1% since 1989.
- The roof on an average 4-bed family home captures more than 100,000litres of rainwater each year.
- A typical family uses 70,000 litres of water each year on toiletflushing, clothes washing and outside use.
- One third of all water used in the home gets flushed down thetoilet.
- Rainharvesting can replace up to 50% of a household mains waterconsumption, and up to 85% on commercial installations.
- Collecting rain from your roof reduces surface water byapproximately 60% per plot.
- Rainwater harvesting in Germany is over 100 times the current usein the UK.
- Rainwater harvesting in the UK has increased by approximately 300% in the last two years.