Our health, communities, and economy all depend on clean water. To have healthy populations
downstream, we need clean water upstream. Rivers, lakes, bays, and coastal waters are all dependent on the
streams and wetlands that feed them. Communities benefit from streams and wetlands because they trap
floodwaters, recharge groundwater supplies, filter pollution, and offer habitat for fish and wildlife. The total
volume of fresh water on Earth far outweighs human demands. Out of the overall water resources on Earth,
about 97% can be found in the oceans while the remaining 3% remains available for direct exploitation;
however, out of this 3%, the quantity of water that is available for use by humans is estimated at
onehundredth (Eakin and Sharman 2010; Gleick 1993).