Although almost 80 percent of Earth is covered with water, only 3 percent of the planet's water resources represent fresh water. Less than 1 percent of all water is available for human consumption; the rest is salty ocean water, or freshwater that is bound up in glaciers and polar ice caps. Of the water available to humans, animals, and plants, only a tiny fraction is used as drinking water. Most of what is consumed is used to create electricity, grow crops, run factories, and for household and sanitation needs.

Global water consumption rose almost tenfold in the last century, and many parts of the world are now reaching the limits of their supply. Populations continue to increase while water supplies dwindle. To highlight this growing problem, the United Nations declared 2003 to be The International Year of Freshwater. According to the U.N., if current trends continue, "two out of every three people on earth will suffer moderate to severe water shortages in little more than two decades from now. Globally, one in six people still have no regular access to safe drinking water, and more than twice that number (2.4 billion people) lack access to adequate sanitation facilities."

The problem is local as well as global. In the desert Southwest, drought combined with depleted stores of groundwater and burgeoning Sunbelt populations are putting unprecedented strains on the water supply. Water is in demand for a myriad of uses: recreational, mining and industry, fishing, irrigation, and riparian habitat preservation, among others. In the U.S., almost 100 gallons per day of drinking water are used per capita.

In 2003, the U.S. Department of the Interior acknowledged that the semi-arid West faces particular challenges. In its report, Water 2025: Preventing Crises and Conflict in the West, DOI concedes that "today, in some areas of the West, existing water supplies are, or will be, inadequate to meet the water demands of people, cities, farms, and the environment even under normal water supply conditions."

Excessive use of water has the following adverse effects on our society, economy, and environment:

· More dams must be built, destroying wilderness areas and reducing streamflow.
· The water infrastructure requires increased maintenance for pipes, sewers, and treatment facilities.
· Agricultural uses can contribute to erosion, salinity and increased desertification.
· Water bodies such as rivers, wetlands, and bays are degraded from the high levels of water extracted and from the polluted runoff that feeds into them.

This website explores some ways that individuals can make a difference in the effort to conserve water, a most precious resource.