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why is fresh water a critical resource
Fresh water is a critical resource due to the following reasons:
Water is among the most precious of natural resources, essential for the survival of life on Earth. Fresh water is emerging as the most critical resource issue facing humanity. While 70 percent of the earth’s surface is water, only three percent of it is fresh water—and almost all of that three percent is inaccessible for human use. While the supply of fresh water is limited, both the world’s population and demand for the resource continues to expand rapidly. The world’s rapid population growth over the last century has been a major factor in increasing global water usage. But demand for water is also rising because of urbanization, economic development, and improved living standards. In many countries, lakes and rivers are used as receptacles for an assortment of wastes—including untreated or partially treated municipal sewage, industrial poisons, and harmful chemicals that leach into surface and ground water during agricultural activities.

- Fresh water accounts for only 2.5percent of Earth’s surface.!
- Global water use has increased sixfold in 70 years, as the world’s population tripled.!
- Humans now harness more than 50 percent of all available fresh water.!
- To pace population growth, 70 percent of fresh water will have to be harnessed by 2025. If all the world’s people consume water in 2025 at the rate now enjoyed by residents of developed nations, 90 percent of all fresh water will be used in 2025.
- Two-thirds of all fresh water is used for agriculture, and irrigation is highly inefficient, with up to 60 percent lost to evaporation.
- As humans use more water, less remains to maintain vital river, lake and wetland ecosystems on which both people and wildlife depend.


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