Many people take for granted that they will get water when they turn on the tap. But did you ever stop to wonder where it comes from and how it gets to you?
Water is one of the Earths most abundant natural resources, but the total amount of water available is fixed. Earth has the same amount of water today as it did when life first emerged on the planet. That's because our water is in a continuous process of use and re-use.
Most of the world's water supply is in the form of salt water stored in the oceans. Since converting salt water to fresh water for drinking is expensive, it is rare to find a city that relies on salt water as its water source.
Only three percent of the world's water supply is fresh water, and two-thirds of that water is frozen, in the form of polar ice caps, glaciers and icebergs. Thus, only one percent of the overall supply is fresh water that can be found in either surface or groundwater and used for human consumption. You'll find surface water in lakes, rivers, ponds and streams, while groundwater is underneath your feet in underground aquifers.
As the world's population continues to increase, so does the demand for water; however, the worlds water supply does not increase. What there is, is unevenly distributed through precipitation because of varying conditions such as climate and water consumption by plants and animals. So there is not always enough water in places where it is needed. And due to growing populations and industry, the total amount of clean water available is constantly diminishing.
Those of us who reside in developed countries should count ourselves among the fortunate, regarding water supply. Relatively clean water is a constant in our lives, readily available whenever we need it. However, even developed countries suffer from water woes and contamination issues related to ageing infrastructure, treatment breakdowns, human error and geological influences.
In underdeveloped countries, the water crisis tops the list of issues to be addressed. More than 1.5 billion people around the world lack a safe and reliable supply of drinking water, and water-related diseases are the leading cause of deaths across the globe.
While there may be a plentiful supply of water in developed countries, there are still many issues with the quality of the water that is supplied to homes. This could be due to hardness minerals such as calcium and magnesium that can block pipes and cause hard water stains. To remove hard water stains from fixtures and fittings around the home takes a small amount of knowledge about its properties. In particular, knowing that a weak acid will remove them will go a long way to getting rid of them as the acid dissolves away such stains with ease.
These acid solutions can often be made up using simple household ingredients from around the home. There are easy ways to remove even the most stubborn limescale and hard water stains without any expensive products in 30 minutes using a simple step by step proven method, which will make your fixtures and fittings shine like new!
