Drinking water information and drinking water facts
About 82% of our blood is water. It helps digest our food, transport waste, and control body temperature.
Each year 3 to 4 million people die of waterborne diseases, including 2 million children who die of diarrhea.
In the developing countries, 80% of illnesses are water-related.
Worldwide water withdrawals from water bodies have risen from 250 cubic metres/person/year in 1900 to over 700 cubic metres today.
Once evaporated, a water molecule spends about 10 days in the air.
Glacier ice over 100 000 years old is found at the base of many Canadian Arctic ice caps.
Henderson Lake, British Columbia, has the greatest average annual precipitation in Canada - 6655 millimetres. In contrast, Eureka, in Nunavut, has the least average annual precipitation - 64 millimetres.
Freshwater lakes, rivers, and underground aquifers hold only 2.5% of the world's water. By comparison, saltwater oceans and seas contain 97.5% of the world's water supply.
Over two-thirds of the earth's fresh water exists as ice in the form of glaciers and ice caps.
Of the total world's freshwater supply, about one-third is found underground.
Almost 9%, or 891 163 square kilometres, of Canada's total area is covered by fresh water.
Annually, Canada's rivers discharge 7% of the world's renewable water supply - 105 000 cubic metres per second.
There is enough fresh water on the earth to cover Canada and the United States to a depth of about 1.8 kilometres.
Canada has about 25% of the world's wetlands - the largest wetland area in the world.
Wetlands totalling an area of 147.9 million hectares cover about 14% of the land area of Canada.
Approximately 60% of Canada's fresh water drains north, while 85% of the population lives along the southern border with the United States.
Canada holds 20% of the world's fresh water, but has only 7% of the world's fresh renewable water.
Although the Canadian Dam Association register of dams (2003) reports 933 large dams in the country, there are many thousands of smaller dams.
To date, only about 40% of Canada's hydroelectric potential has been developed.
Water power meets about two thirds of the nation's electrical needs.
The highest waterfall in Canada is Della Falls, B.C. at 440 metres.
The longest Canadian river is the Mackenzie River in the N.W.T. at 4241 kilometres.
The largest lake entirely in Canada is Great Bear Lake in the N.W.T. at 31 328 square kilometres.
Acid rain with a pH of 3.6 has 100 times the acidity of normal rain with a pH of 5.6.
In 1999, 97% of the municipal population received some form of sewage treatment and secondary or tertiary treatment was provided to 78% of the municipal population.
Water consumption usually drops 18-25% after a water meter is installed.
Estimates vary, but it is commonly believed that there are up to 100 000 chemicals in commercial use worldwide.
One litre of oil can contaminate up to 2 million litres of water.
On the Prairies, irrigation is the largest consumer of water.
Approximately 10 litres of water is required to manufacture 1 litre of gasoline.
Approximately 1000 kilograms of water is required to grow 1 kilogram of potatoes.
Approximately 300 litres of water is required to produce 1 kilogram of paper.
It takes about 215 000 litres of water to produce one metric ton of steel.
On average, 13% of municipal piped water is lost in pipeline leaks - up to 30% in some communities.
Toilets (while consuming nearly one quarter of our municipal water supply) use over 40% more water than needed.
Many homes lose more water from leaky taps than they need for cooking and drinking.
Less than 3% of the water produced at a large municipal water treatment plant is used for drinking purposes.
Residential indoor water use in Canada: toilet - 30%; bathing and showering - 35%; laundry - 20%; kitchen and drinking - 10%; cleaning - 5%.
A 5-minute shower with a standard shower head uses 100 litres of water.
A 5-minute shower with a low-flow shower head uses only 35 litres of water.
During the summer, about half of all treated water is sprayed onto lawns and gardens.
Water uses and consumption: toilet flush - 15-19L; shower (5 min.) - 100L; tub bath - 60L; automatic dishwashing - 40L; dishwashing by hand - 35L; hand washing - 8L (with tap running); brushing teeth - 10L (with tap running); outdoor watering - 35L/min; washing machine - 225L.
A single lawn sprinkler spraying 19 litres per minute uses 50% more water in just one hour than a combination of ten toilet flushes, two 5-minute showers, two dishwasher loads, and a full load of clothes.
The Great Lakes are the largest system of fresh, surface water on earth, containing roughly 18% of the world supply.
One out of every three Canadians and one out of every ten U.S. residents depend on the Great Lakes for their water.
The Great Lakes' coastline accounts for 4% (10 000 kilometres) of the total length of Canada's coasts.
Passage of a major storm on Lake Erie can cause short-term lake level changes of as much as 4 metres.
Glacial bluffs make up 21% of Lake Ontario and 42% of Lake Erie Canadian shorelines.
Erosion of shores along the Great Lakes is primarily caused by waves.
Since the beginning of the 19th century, marshes along the Canadian shore of Lake Ontario have been reduced in area by 40%.
Each day humans must replace 2.4 litres of water, some through drinking and the rest taken by the body from the foods eaten.
