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Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also called tap water .
Total domestic water use in France is about 6 billion cubic metres or only about 3 percent of total runoff (191 billion cubic metres). 62 percent of drinking water supply is from groundwater and 28 percent from surface water.
Water fit for human consumption is called drinking water or potable water. Water that is not potable may be made potable by filtration or distillation, or by a range of other methods. More than 660 million people do not have access to safe drinking water.
Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap.
The water footprint of an individual, community, or business is defined as the total volume of fresh water used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business. Water use is measured in water volume consumed ( evaporated) and/or polluted per unit of time.
More generally, desalination is the removal of salts and minerals from a substance. [1] One example is soil desalination. This is important for agriculture. It is possible to desalinate saltwater, especially sea water, to produce water for human consumption or irrigation.
Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. [1] [2] It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through treatment of the water, can be assessed.
Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slightly over two-thirds of this is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps.
Ranking by access to safe drinking water. List of countries by share of population with access to safe drinking water. Safe drinking water is water from an improved water source which is reliable and free from contamination.
Fresh water is the water resource that is of the most and immediate use to humans. Water is critical to the survival of all living organisms. Many organisms can thrive on salt water, but the great majority of vascular plants and most insects, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds need fresh water to survive.