This is what happens when water is contaminated

"Water is the greatest of all things," said the Greek poet Pindar. Many scientists presume that life itself began in water. There could certainly be no life without it; most living creatures consist mainly of water. But what if one day there were no water? Why should we care about the water of the future, and what can we do about it?


Flip through any science textbook and you'll read that water is renewable, that although it's used, it is never used up. But water usage is increasing. Although water covers three-fourths of the earth, 97 percent of it is salt water, and more than two percent is frozen in glaciers and icecaps. That means less than one percent of all water on this earth is usable, while water usage per person averages 100,000 gallons per year.

The world's seven billion citizens are already appropriating 54 percent of all the accessible fresh water. United Nations' research shows that by 2025, we will use 70 percent - and this calculation reflects only the effect of population growth. If per capita consumption of water resources increases at its current rate, we would be using over 90 percent within 25 years, leaving only 10 percent for all other living creatures.
There is also another problem affecting the water system - pollution. Human and other animal wastes, toxic chemicals, metal and oils all pollute.

Every day, 6,000 people - most of them children under five - die from diarrheal diseases. Water-borne diseases including cholera, typhoid, polio, hepatitis A and meningitis kill more than 5 million people every year.
Another 2.3 billion people suffer from diseases linked to dirty water.
About 60 percent of all infant mortality worldwide is linked to water-related diseases.
The earth is expected to support another 5 billion people by the year 2050. This means sewage facilities must be provided to 383,000 new customers every day. In the year 2000, the world's demand for fresh water was double what it was in the 1980s.

What's next?