Water Supply

Water Supply — page 1
Water on Tap M ost of us take water for granted We turn on the faucet when we want a drink We have a bath or shower every day and we turn on machines to wash our clothes or dishes We simply expect water to be there whenever we want it Imagine what would happen if you turned on the faucet and nothing happened Suppose your water supply just ran out You would have to gather rainwater to wash with and join long lines of people waiting for fresh water to drink Many farms in developed countries use large quantities of water to irrigate their crops Much of this is wasted in runoff and evaporation As the population of the world increases the worldwide demand for water is growing It is not just drinking water that the world needs it is water for agriculture and manufacturing industries Did you know that it takes 37 gallons 140 l of water to produce one cup of coffee Or 792 gallons 3,000 l to make a hamburger and 2,100 gallons 8,000 l to create a pair of leather shoes All of these processes require enormous amounts of water to grow crops feed cows or produce leather 4