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The aim of water security is to make the most of water’s benefits for humans and ecosystems. The second aim is to limit the risks of destructive impacts of water to an acceptable level.^[1][2] These risks include for example too much water (flood), too little water (drought and water scarcity) or poor quality (polluted) water.^[1] People who live with a high level of water security always have access to “an acceptable quantity and quality of water for health, livelihoods and production”.^[2] For example, access to water, sanitation and hygiene services is one part of water security.^[3] Some organizations use the term water security more narrowly for water supply aspects only.

Decision makers and water managers aim to reach water security goals that address multiple concerns. These outcomes can include increasing economic and social well-being while reducing risks tied to water.^[4] There are linkages and trade-offs between the different outcomes.^[3]: 13 Planners often consider water security effects for varied groups when they design climate change reduction strategies.^{[5]: 19–21}

Three main factors determine how difficult or easy it is for a society to sustain its water security. These include the hydrologic environment, the socio-economic environment, and future changes due to the effects of climate change.^[1] Decision makers may assess water security risks at varied levels. These range from the household to community, city, basin, country and region.^[3]: 11

The opposite of water security is water insecurity.^[6]: 5 Water insecurity is a growing threat to societies.^[7]: 4 The main factors contributing to water insecurity are water scarcity, water pollution and low water quality due to climate change impacts. Others include poverty, destructive forces of water, and disasters that stem from natural hazards. Climate change affects water security in many ways. Changing rainfall patterns, including droughts, can have a big impact on water availability. Flooding can worsen water quality. Stronger storms can damage infrastructure, especially in the Global South.^[8]: 660

There are different ways to deal with water insecurity. Science and engineering approaches can increase the water supply or make water use more efficient. Financial and economic tools can include a safety net to ensure access for poorer people. Management tools such as demand caps can improve water security.^[7]: 16 They work on strengthening institutions and information flows. They may also improve water quality management, and increase investment in water infrastructure. Improving the climate resilience of water and hygiene services is important. These efforts help to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development.^[2]

There is no single method to measure water security.^[8]: 562 Metrics of water security roughly fall into two groups. This includes those that are based on experiences versus metrics that are based on resources. The former mainly focus on measuring the water experiences of households and human well-being. The latter tend to focus on freshwater stores or water resources security.^[9]

The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report found that increasing weather and climate extreme events have exposed millions of people to acute food insecurity and reduced water security. Scientists have observed the largest impacts in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Small Islands and the Arctic.^[10]: 9  The report predicted that global warming of 2 °C would expose roughly 1-4 billion people to water stress. It finds 1.5-2.5 billion people live in areas exposed to water scarcity.^[10]: 660

Definitions

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Broad definition

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There are various definitions for the term water security.^{[11][12]: 5} It emerged as a concept in the 21st century. It is broader than the absence of water scarcity.^[1] It differs from the concepts of food security and energy security. Whereas those concepts cover reliable access to food or energy, water security covers not only the absence of water but also its presence when there is too much of it.^[2]

One definition of water security is “the reliable availability of an acceptable quantity and quality of water for health, livelihoods and production, coupled with an acceptable level of water-related risks“.^[2]

A similar definition of water security by UN-Water is: “the capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability.”^{[11]: 1 [13]}

World Resources Institute also gave a similar definition in 2020. “For purposes of this report, we define water security as the capacity of a population to

• safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socioeconomic development;
• protect against water pollution and water-related disasters; and
• preserve ecosystems, upon which clean water availability and other ecosystem services depend.”^[7]: 17

Narrower definition with a focus on water supply

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Some organizations use water security in a more specific sense to refer to water supply only. They do not consider the water-related risks of too much water. For example, the definition of WaterAid in 2012 focuses on water supply issues. They defined water security as “reliable access to water of sufficient quantity and quality for basic human needs, small-scale livelihoods and local ecosystem services, coupled with a well managed risk of water-related disasters”.^[11]: 5 The World Water Council also uses this more specific approach with a focus on water supply. “Water security refers to the availability of water, in adequate quantity and quality, to sustain all these needs together (social and economic sectors, as well as the larger needs of the planet’s ecosystems) – without exceeding its ability to renew.”^[14][15]

Relationship with WASH and IWRM

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WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) is an important concept when in discussions of water security. Access to WASH services is one part of achieving water security.^[3] The relationship works both ways. To be sustainable, WASH services need to address water security issues.^[16]: 4 For example WASH relies on water resources that are part of the water cycle. But climate change has many impacts on the water cycle which can threaten water security.^[11]: vII There is also growing competition for water. This reduces the availability of water resources in many areas in the world.^[16]: 4

Water security incorporates ideas and concepts to do with the sustainability, integration and adaptiveness of water resource management.^[17][4] In the past, experts used terms such as integrated water resources management (IWRM) or sustainable water management for this.

Related concepts

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Water risk

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Water risk refers to the possibility of problems to do with water. Examples are water scarcity, water stress, flooding, infrastructure decay and drought.^[18]: 4 There exists an inverse relationship between water risk and water security. This means as water risk increases, water security decreases. Water risk is complex and multilayered. It includes risks flooding and drought. These can lead to infrastructure failure and worsen hunger.^[19] When these disasters take place, they result in water scarcity or other problems. The potential economic effects of water risk are important to note. Water risks threaten entire industries. Examples are the food and beverage sector, agriculture, oil and gas and utilities. Agriculture uses 69% of total freshwater in the world. So this industry is very vulnerable to water stress.^[20]

Risk is a combination of hazard, exposure and vulnerability.^[4] Examples of hazards are droughts, floods and decline in quality. Bad infrastructure and bad governance lead to high exposure to risk.

The financial sector is becoming more aware of the potential impacts of water risk and the need for its proper management. By 2025, water risk will threaten $145 trillion in assets under management.^[21]

To control water risk, companies can develop water risk management plans.^[19] Stakeholders within financial markets can use these plans to measure company environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. They can then identify leaders in water risk management.^[22][20] The World Resources Institute has developed an online water data platform named Aqueduct for risk assessment and water management. China Water Risk is a nonprofit dedicated to understanding and managing water risk in China.^[23][24] The World Wildlife Fund has a Water Risk Filter that helps companies assess and respond to water risk with scenarios for 2030 and 2050.^[25]

Understanding risk is part of water security policy. But it is also important to take social equity considerations more into account.^[26]

There is no wholly accepted theory or mathematical model for determining or managing water risk.^[3]: 13 Instead, managers use a range of theories, models and technologies to understand the trade-offs that exist in responding to risk.

Water conflict

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This section is an excerpt from Water conflict.[edit]

Water conflict typically refers to violence or disputes associated with access to, or control of, water resources, or the use of water or water systems as weapons or casualties of conflicts. The term water war is colloquially used in media for some disputes over water, and often is more limited to describing a conflict between countries, states, or groups over the rights to access water resources.^[28][29] The United Nations recognizes that water disputes result from opposing interests of water users, public or private.^[30] A wide range of water conflicts appear throughout history, though they are rarely traditional wars waged over water alone.^[31] Instead, water has long been a source of tension and one of the causes for conflicts. Water conflicts arise for several reasons, including territorial disputes, a fight for resources, and strategic advantage.^[32]Water conflicts can occur on the intrastate and interstate levels. Interstate conflicts occur between two or more countries that share a transboundary water source, such as a river, sea, or groundwater basin. For example, the Middle East has only 1% of the world’s fresh water shared among 5% of the world’s population and most of the rivers cross international borders.^[33] Intrastate conflicts take place between two or more parties in the same country, such as conflicts between farmers and urban water users.

Desired outcomes

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There are three groups of water security outcomes. These include economic, environmental and equity (or social) outcomes.^[1] Outcomes are things that happen or people would want to see happen as a result of policy and management:

• Economic outcomes: Sustainable growth which takes changing water needs and threats into account.^[3] Sustainable growth includes job creation, increased productivity and standards of living.

• Environmental outcomes: Quality and availability of water for the ecosystems services that depend on this water resource. Loss of freshwater biodiversity and depletion of groundwater are examples of negative environmental outcomes.^[34][35]
• Equity or social outcomes: Inclusive services so that consumers, industry and agriculture can access safe, reliable, sufficient and affordable water. These also mean they can dispose of wastewater safely. This area includes gender issues, empowerment, participation and accountability.^[1]

There are four major focus areas for water security and its outcomes. It is about using water to increase economic and social welfare, move towards long-term sustainability or reduce risks tied to water.^[4] Decision makers and water managers must consider the linkages and trade-offs between the varied types of outcomes.^[3]: 13

Improving water security is a key factor to achieve growth, development that is sustainable and reduce poverty.^[2] Water security is also about social justice and fair distribution of environmental benefits and harms.^[36] Development that is sustainable can help reduce poverty and increase living standards. This is most likely to benefit those affected by the impacts of insecure water resources in the region, especially women and children.

Water security is important for attaining most of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is because access to adequate and safe water is a precondition for meeting many of the individual goals.^[8]: 4–8 It is also important for attaining development that is resilient to climate change.^[8]: 4–7 Planners take note of water security outcomes for various groups in society when they design strategies for climate change adaptation.^{[3]: 19–21}

Determining factors

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Three main factors determine the ability of a society to sustain water security:^[2]

1. Hydrologic environment
2. Socio-economic environment
3. Changes in the future environment (due to the effects of climate change)

Hydrologic environment

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The hydrologic environment is important for water security. The term hydrologic environment refers to the “absolute level of water resource availability”. But it also refers to how much it varies in time and location. Inter-annual means from one year to the next, Intra-annual means from one season to the next. It is possible to refer to location as spatial distribution.^[2] Scholars distinguish between a hydrologic environment that is easy to manage and one that is difficult.^[2]

An easy to manage hydrologic environment would be one with low rainfall variability. In this case rain is distributed throughout the year and perennial river flows sustained by groundwater base flows. For example, many of the world’s industrialized nations have a hydrologic environment that they can manage quite easily. This has helped them achieve water security early in their development.^[2]

A difficult to manage hydrologic environment is one with absolute water scarcity such as deserts or low-lying lands prone to severe flood risk. Regions where rainfall is very variable from one season to the next, or regions where rainfall varies a lot from one year to the next are also likely to face water security challenges. The term for this is high inter-annual climate variability. An example would be East Africa, where there have been prolonged droughts every two to three years since 1999.^[37] Most of the world’s developing countries have challenges in managing hydrologies and have not achieved water security. This is not a coincidence.^[2]

The poverty and hydrology hypothesis states that regions with a difficult hydrology remain poor because the respective governments have not been able to make the large investments necessary to achieve water security. Examples of such regions would be those with rainfall variability within one year and across several years. This leads to water insecurity which constrains economic growth.^[2] There is a statistical link between increased changes in rainfall patterns and lower per capita incomes.^[38]

Socio-economic environment

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Relative levels of economic development and equality or inequality are strong determinants of community and household scale water security. Whilst the poverty and hydrology hypothesis suggests that there is a link between poverty and difficult hydrologies, there are many examples of “difficult hydrologies” that have not (yet) resulted in poverty and water insecurity.^[2][39]

Social and economic inequalities are strong drivers of water insecurity, especially at the community and household scales. Gender, race and caste inequalities have all been linked to differential access to water services such as drinking water and sanitation. In particular women and girls frequently have less access to economic and social opportunities as a directly consequence of being primarily responsible for meeting household water needs. The entire journey from water source to point of use is fraught with hazards largely faced by women and girls.^[40] There is strong evidence that improving access to water and sanitation is a good way of addressing such inequalities.

Climate change

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Further information: Effects of climate change on the water cycle and Water security § Reduced water quality due to climate change impacts

Impacts of climate change that are tied to water, affect people’s water security on a daily basis. They include more frequent and intense heavy precipitation which affects the frequency, size and timing of floods.^[41] Also droughts can alter the total amount of freshwater and cause a decline in groundwater storage, and reduction in groundwater recharge.^[42] Reduction in water quality due to extreme events can also occur.^[8]: 558 Faster melting of glaciers can also occur.^[43]

Global climate change will probably make it more complex and expensive to ensure water security.^[2] It creates new threats and adaptation challenges.^[1] This is because climate change leads to increased hydrological variability and extremes. Climate change has many impacts on the water cycle. These result in higher climatic and hydrological variability, which can threaten water security.^[11]: vII Changes in the water cycle threaten existing and future water infrastructure. It will be harder to plan investments for future water infrastructure as there are so many uncertainties about future variability for the water cycle.^[1] This makes societies more exposed to risks of extreme events linked to water and therefore reduces water security.^[11]: vII

It is difficult to predict the effects of climate change on national and local levels. Water security will be affected by sea level rise in low lying coastal areas while populations dependent on snowmelt as their water source will be affected by the recession of glaciers and mountain snow.^[12]: 21

Future climate change must be viewed in context of other existing challenges for water security. Other challenges existing climate variability in areas closer to the equator, population growth and increased demand for water resources. Others include political challenges, increased disaster exposure due to settlement in hazard-prone areas, and environmental degradation.^[12]: 22 Water demand for irrigation in agriculture will increase due to climate change. This is because evaporation rates and the rate of water loss from crops will be higher due to rising temperatures.^[7]: 4

Climate factors have a major effect on water security as various levels. Geographic variability in water availability, reliability of rainfall and vulnerability to droughts, floods and cyclones are inherent hazards that affect development opportunities. These play out at international to intra-basin scales. At local scales, social vulnerability is a factor that increases the risks to water security, no matter the cause.^[5]: 6 For example, people affected by poverty may have less ability to cope with climate shocks.^[5]

Challenges and threats

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There are many factors that contribute to low water security. Some examples are:^{[7]: 4 [6]: 9}

• Water scarcity: Water demand exceeds supply in many regions of the world. This can be due to population growth, higher living standards, general economic expansion and/or greater quantities of water used in agriculture for irrigation.
• Increasing water pollution and low levels of wastewater treatment, which is making local water unusable.
• Poor planning of water use, poor water management and misuse. These can cause groundwater levels to drop, rivers and lakes to dry out, and local ecosystems to collapse.
• Trans-boundary waters and international rivers which belong to several countries. Country borders often do not align with natural watersheds. One reason is that international borders result from boundaries during colonialism.^[2]
• Climate change. This makes water-related disasters such as droughts and floods more frequent and intense; rising temperatures and sea levels can contaminate freshwater sources.^[6]: 9

Water scarcity

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A major threat to water security is water scarcity. About 27% of the world’s population lived in areas affected by water scarcity in the mid-2010s. This number will likely increase to 42% by 2050.^[44]

This section is an excerpt from Water scarcity.[edit]

Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity. One is physical. The other is economic water scarcity.^[46]: 560 Physical water scarcity is where there is not enough water to meet all demands. This includes water needed for ecosystems to function. Regions with a desert climate often face physical water scarcity.^[47] Central Asia, West Asia, and North Africa are examples of arid areas. Economic water scarcity results from a lack of investment in infrastructure or technology to draw water from rivers, aquifers, or other water sources. It also results from weak human capacity to meet water demand.^[46]: 560 Many people in Sub-Saharan Africa are living with economic water scarcity.^[48]: 11There is enough freshwater available globally and averaged over the year to meet demand. As such, water scarcity is caused by a mismatch between when and where people need water, and when and where it is available.^[49] This can happen due to an increase in the number of people in a region, changing living conditions and diets, and expansion of irrigated agriculture.^[50][51][52] Climate change (including droughts or floods), deforestation, water pollution and wasteful use of water can also mean there is not enough water.^[53] These variations in scarcity may also be a function of prevailing economic policy and planning approaches.

Water pollution

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Water pollution is a threat to water security. It can affect the supply of drinking water and indirectly contribute to water scarcity.

This section is an excerpt from Water pollution.[edit]

Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses.^[54]: 6 It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water pollution results when contaminants mix with these water bodies. Contaminants can come from one of four main sources. These are sewage discharges, industrial activities, agricultural activities, and urban runoff including stormwater.^[55] Water pollution may affect either surface water or groundwater. This form of pollution can lead to many problems. One is the degradation of aquatic ecosystems. Another is spreading water-borne diseases when people use polluted water for drinking or irrigation.^[56] Water pollution also reduces the ecosystem services such as drinking water provided by the water resource.

Reduced water quality due to climate change

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Weather and its related shocks can affect water quality in several ways. These depend on the local climate and context.^[57] Shocks that are linked to weather include water shortages, heavy rain and temperature extremes. They can damage water infrastructure through erosion under heavy rainfall and floods, cause loss of water sources in droughts, and make water quality deteriorate.^[57]

Climate change can reduce lower water quality in several ways:^[8]: 582

• Heavy rainfall can rapidly reduce the water quality in rivers and shallow groundwater. It can affect water quality in reservoirs even if these effects can be slow.^[58] Heavy rainfall also impacts groundwater in deeper, unfractured aquifers. But these impacts are less pronounced. Rainfall can increase fecal contamination of water sources.^[57]
• Floods after heavy rainfalls can mix floodwater with wastewater. Also pollutants can reach water bodies by increased surface runoff.
• Groundwater quality may deteriorate due to droughts. The pollution in rivers that feed groundwater becomes less diluted. As groundwater levels drop, rivers may lose direct contact with groundwater.^[59]
• In coastal regions, more saltwater may mix into freshwater aquifers due to sea level rise and more intense storms.^{[11]: 16 [4]} This process is called saltwater intrusion.
• Warmer water in lakes, oceans, reservoirs and rivers can cause more eutrophication. This results in more frequent harmful algal blooms.^[8]: 140 Higher temperatures cause problems for water bodies and aquatic ecosystems because warmer water contains less oxygen.^[60]
• Permafrost thawing leads to an increased flux of contaminants.^[61]
• Increased meltwater from glaciers may release contaminants.^[62] As glaciers shrink or disappear, the positive effect of seasonal meltwater on downstream water quality through dilution is disappearing.^[63]

Poverty

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People in low-income countries are at greater risk of water insecurity and may also have less resources to mitigate it. This can result in human suffering, sustained poverty, constrained growth and social unrest.^[2]

Food and water insecurity pose significant challenges for numerous individuals across the United States. Strategies employed by households in response to these pressing issues encompass labor intensive methods, such as melting ice, earning wages, and occasionally incurring debt, all aimed at water conservation. Additionally, families may turn to foraging for water-based plants and animals, seeking alternative sources of sustenance. Adjusting consumption patterns becomes imperative, involving the rationing of servings and prioritizing nutritional value, particularly for vulnerable members like small children. The phenomenon of substituting more expensive, nutritious food with cheaper alternatives is also observed.^[64]

Furthermore, individuals may consume from sources considered “stigmatized” by society, such as urine or unfiltered water. Migration emerges as a viable option, with families fostering children to relatives outside famine zones and engaging in seasonal or permanent resettlement. In certain instances, resource preservation involves the challenging decision of abandoning specific family members. This is achieved through withholding resources from non-family members, prioritizing the health of some family members over others, and, in extreme cases, leaving individuals behind. As the climate changes, the impact of food and water insecurity is disproportionately felt, necessitating a re-evaluation of societal misconceptions about those making survival sacrifices. Larger entities, including the government and various organizations, extend assistance based on available resources, highlighting the importance of addressing information gaps in specific data.^[64]

Destructive forces of water

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Water can cause large-scale destruction due to its huge power.^[2] This destruction can result from sudden events. Examples are tsunamis, floods or landslides. Events that happen slowly over time such as erosion, desertification or water pollution can also cause destruction.^[2]

Other threats

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Other threats to water security include:

• Disasters caused by natural hazards such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires. These can damage man-made structures such as dams and fill waterways with debris;
• Some climate change mitigation measures which need a lot of water. Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, afforestation and reforestation may use relatively large amounts of water if done at inappropriate locations.^[8]: 4–8 The term for this is a high water footprint.
• Terrorism such as water supply terrorism;^[65]
• Radiation due to a nuclear accident;^[65]
• New water uses such as hydraulic fracturing for energy resources;^[66]
• Armed conflict and migration. Migration can be due to water scarcity at the origin or it can lead to more water scarcity at the target destinations.^[6]: 9

Management approaches

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There are different ways to tackle water insecurity.^[67] Science and engineering approaches can increase the water supply or make water use more efficient. Financial and economic tools can be used as a safety net for poorer people. Higher prices may encourage more investments in water systems. Finally, management tools such as demand caps can improve water security.^{[7]: 16, 104} Decision makers invest in institutions, information flows and infrastructure to achieve a high level of water security.^[1]

Investment decisions

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Institutions

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The right institutions are important to improve water security.^[2] Institutions govern how decisions can promote or constrain water security outcomes for the poor.^[3] Strengthening institutions might involve reallocating risks and duties between the state, market and communities in new ways. This can include performance-based models, development impact bonds, or blended finance from government, donors and users. These finance mechanisms are set up to work jointly with state, private sector and communities investors.^[3]: 37

Sustainable Development Goal 16 is about peace, justice and strong institutions. It recognizes that strong institutions are a necessary condition for sustainable development, including water security.^[3]: 35

Drinking water quality and water pollution are linked. But policymakers often do not address them in a comprehensive way. For example, pollution from industries is often not linked to drinking water quality in developing countries.^[3]: 32 Keeping track of river, groundwater and wastewater is important. It can identify sources of contamination and guide targeted regulatory responses. The WHO has described water safety plans as the most effective means of maintaining a safe supply of drinking water to the public.^[68]

Information flows

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It is important for institutions to have access to information about water. This helps them with their planning and decision-making.^[1] It also helps with tracking how accountable and effective policies are. Investments into climate information tools that are appropriate for the local context are useful.^[5]: 59 They cover a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. They also respond to regional climate risks tied to water.^[5]: 58

Seasonal climate and hydrological forecasts can be useful to prepare for and reduce water security risks. They are especially useful if people can apply them at the local scale.^[69][70] Applying knowledge of how climate anomalies relate to each other over long distances can improve seasonal forecasts for specific regions. These teleconnections are correlations between patterns of rainfall, temperature, and wind speed between distant areas. They are caused by large-scale ocean and atmospheric circulation.^[71][72]

In regions where rainfall varies with the seasons and from year to year, water managers would like to have more accurate seasonal weather forecasts. In some locations the onset of seasonal rainfall is particularly hard to predict. This is because aspects of the climate system are difficult to describe with mathematical models. For example, the long rains in East Africa which fall March to May have been difficult to simulate with climate models. When climate models work well they can produce useful seasonal forecasts.^[73] One reason for these difficulties is the complex topography of the area.^[73] Improved understanding of atmospheric processes may allow climate scientists to provide more relevant and localized information to water managers on a seasonal timescale. They could also provide more detailed predictions for the effects of climate change on a longer timeframe.^[74]

One example would be seasonal forecasts of rainfall in Ethiopia’s Awash river basin. These may become more accurate by understanding better how sea surface temperatures in different ocean regions relate to rainfall patterns in this river basin.^[72] At a larger regional scale, a better understanding of the relationship between pressure systems in the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic on the one hand, and wind speeds and rainfall patterns in the Greater Horn of Africa on the other hand would be helpful. This kind of scientific analysis may contribute to improved representation of this region in climate models to assist development planning.^[76] It could also guide people when they plan water allocation in the river basin or prepare emergency response plans for future events of water scarcity and flooding.^[72]

Infrastructure

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Water infrastructure serves to access, store, regulate, move and conserve water. Several assets carry out these functions. Natural assets are lakes, rivers, wetlands, aquifers, springs. Engineered assets are bulk water management infrastructure, such as dams.^[2] Examples include:^[1]

• Improved water storage: using natural water storage systems such as aquifers and wetlands or built infrastructure such as storage tanks and dams.
• Using new water sources to add to the existing water supplies. This can be done through water reuse, desalination, rainwater harvesting and groundwater pumping.
• Embankments (or levee or dike) for flood protection.

Public and private spending on water infrastructure and supporting institutions must be well balanced. They are likely to evolve over time.^[2] This is important to avoid unplanned social and environmental costs from building new facilities.

For example, in the case of Africa, investments into groundwater use is an option to increase water security and for climate change adaptation.^[77] Water security in African countries could benefit from the distribution of groundwater storage and recharge on the continent. Recharge is a process where water moves to groundwater. Many countries that have low recharge have substantial groundwater storage. Countries with low storage typically have high, regular recharge.^[78]

Consideration of scales

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People manage water security risks at different spatial scales. These range from the household to community, town, city, basin and region.^[3]: 11 At the local scale, actors include county governments, schools, water user groups, local water providers and the private sector. At the next larger scale there are basin and national level actors. These actors help to identify any constraints with regards to policy, institutions and investments. Lastly, there are global actors such as the World Bank, UNICEF, FCDO, WHO and USAID. They help to develop suitable service delivery models.^[3]: 11

The physical geography of a country shows the correct scale that planners should use for managing water security risks. Even within a country, the hydrologic environment may vary a lot. See for example the variations in seasonal rainfall across Ethiopia.

Reducing inequalities in water security

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Inequalities with regards to water security within a society have structural and historical roots. They can affect people at different scales. These range from the household, to the community, town, river basin or the region.^[3]: 20 High risk social groups and regions can be identified during political debates but are often ignored. Water inequality is often tied to gender in low-income countries. At the household level, women are often the “water managers”. But they have limited choices over water and related issues.^[3]: 21

Improving climate resilience of water and sanitation services

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Many institutions are working to develop WASH services that are resilient to climate.^{[3]: 27, 37 [79][80]}

This section is an excerpt from WASH § Improving climate resilience.[edit]

Climate-resilient water services (or climate-resilient WASH) are services that provide access to high quality drinking water during all seasons and even during extreme weather events.^[81] Climate resilience in general is the ability to recover from, or to mitigate vulnerability to, climate-related shocks such as floods and droughts.^[82] Climate resilient development has become the new paradigm for sustainable development. This concept thus influences theory and practice across all sectors globally.^[82] This is particularly true in the water sector, since water security is closely connected to climate change. On every continent, governments are now adopting policies for climate resilient economies. International frameworks such as the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals are drivers for such initiatives.^[82]

Several activities can improve water security and increase resilience to climate risks: Carrying out a detailed analysis of climate risk to make climate information relevant to specific users; developing metrics for monitoring climate resilience in water systems (this will help to track progress and guide investments for water security); and using new institutional models that improve water security.^[83]

Climate resilient policies can be useful for allocating water, especially when regional water availability may change in future. This requires a good understanding of the current and future hydroclimatic situation. For example, a more accurate prediction of future changes in climate variability leads to a better response to their possible impacts.^[84]

To build climate resilience into water systems, people need to have access to climate information that is appropriate for their local context.^[83]: 59 Climate information products are useful if they cover a wide range of temporal and spatial scales, and provide information on regional water-related climate risks.^[83]: 58 For example, government staff need easy access to climate information to achieve better water management.^[84]

Four important activities to achieve climate resilient WASH services include: First, a risk analysis is performed to look at possible implications of extreme weather events as well as preventive actions.^[85]: 4 Such preventive actions can include for example elevating the infrastructure to be above expected flood levels. Secondly, managers assess the scope for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and put in place suitable options, e.g. using more renewable energy sources. Thirdly, the water utilities ensure that water sources and sanitation services are reliable at all times during the year, also during times of droughts and floods. Finally, the management and service delivery models are strengthened so that they can withstand a crisis.^[85]: 5To put climate resilience into practice and to engage better with politicians, the following guide questions are useful: “resilience of what, to what, for whom, over what time frame, by whom and at what scale?”.^[82] For example, “resilience of what?” means thinking beyond infrastructure but to also include resilience of water resources, local institutions and water users. Another example is that “resilience for whom?” speaks about reducing vulnerability and preventing negative developments: Some top-down interventions that work around power and politics may undermine indigenous knowledge and compromise community resilience.^[82]

Measurement tools

[edit]

There is no single way to measure water security.^[8]: 562 There are no standard indicators to measure water security. That is because it is a concept that focuses on outcomes.^[1] The outcomes that are regard as important can change depending on the context and stakeholders.

Instead, it is common to compare relative levels of water security by using metrics for certain aspects of water security.^[8]: 562 For example, the Global Water Security Index includes metrics on:

• availability (water scarcity index, drought index, groundwater depletion);
• accessibility to water services (access to sanitation and drinking water);
• safety and quality (water quality index, global flood frequency);
• management (World Governance Index, transboundary legal framework, transboundary political tension).^[86]

Scientists have been working on ways to measure water security at a variety of levels. The metrics roughly fall into two groups. There are those that are based on experiences versus metrics that are based on resources. The former mainly focus on measuring the experiences of households and human well-being. Meanwhile the latter focuses on the amount of available freshwater.^[9]

The Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE) Scale measures several components of water insecurity at the household level. These include adequacy, reliability, accessibility and safety.^[87] This scale can help to identify vulnerable subpopulations and ensure resources are allocated to those in need. It can also measure how effective of water policies and projects are.^[87]

Global estimates

[edit]

The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report summarises the current and future water security trends. It says that increasing weather and extreme climate events have led to acute food insecurity and reduced water security for millions of people. The largest impacts are seen in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Small Islands and the Arctic.^[10]: 9

The same report predicted that global warming of 2 °C would expose roughly 1-4 billion people to water stress. This would depend on regional patterns of climate change and the socio-economic scenarios.^[8]: 558 On water scarcity which is one factor in water insecurity the report finds 1.5-2.5 billion people live water scarce areas.^[10]: 660

Water scarcity and water security are not always equal. There are regions with high water security even though they also experience water scarcity. Examples are parts of the United States, Australia and Southern Europe. This is due to efficient water services that have a high level of safety, quality, and accessibility.^{[86][8]: 562} However, even in those regions, groups such as Indigenous peoples tend to have less access to water and face water insecurity at times.^[8]: 562

Country examples

[edit]

Bangladesh

[edit]

Further information: Water supply and sanitation in Bangladesh and Climate change in Bangladesh

Too much water can also cause water insecurity. Left: Flooding in Bangladesh; right: People on an island in a flooded river in Bangladesh.

Risks to water security in Bangladesh include:^[5]: 45

• natural hazards that related to the climate (climate hazards)
• some impacts of urbanization
• impacts from climate change such as changes to precipitation patterns and sea level rise.

The country experiences water security risks in the capital Dhaka as well as in the coastal region.^[5] In Dhaka, monsoonal pulses can lead to urban flooding. This can pollute the water supply.^[5] A number of processes and events cause water risks for about 20 million people in the coastal regions. These include aquifers that are getting saltier, seasonal water scarcity, fecal contamination, and flooding from the monsoon and from storm surges due to cyclones.^[5]: 64

Different types of floods occur in coastal Bangladesh. They are: river floods, tidal floods and storm surge floods due to tropical cyclones.^[88] These floods can damage drinking water infrastructure. They can also lead to reduced water quality as well as losses in agricultural and fishery yields.^[5] There is a link between water insecurity and poverty in the low-lying areas in the Ganges-Brahmaputra tidal delta plain.^[88] Those low-lying areas are embanked areas in coastal Bangladesh.

The government has various programs to reduce risks for people who live in coastal communities. These programs also lead to increases in economic wellbeing.^[88] Examples include the “Coastal Embankment Improvement Project”^[89] by World Bank in 2013, the BlueGold project^[90] in 2012, UNICEF’s “Managed Aquifer Recharge” program in 2014 and the Bangladesh Delta Plan in 2014.^[88] Such investments in water security aim to increase the continued use and upkeep of water facilities. They can help coastal communities to escape the poverty trap caused by water insecurity.^[88]

A program called the “SafePani framework” focuses on how the state shares risks and responsibilities with service providers and communities.^[5] This program aims to help decision makers to address climate risks through a process called climate resilient water safety planning.^[5] The program is a cooperation between UNICEF and the Government of Bangladesh.

Ethiopia

[edit]

Further information: Climate change in Ethiopia and Water supply and sanitation in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has two main wet seasons per year. It rains in the spring and summer. These seasonal patterns of rainfall vary a lot across the country.^[72][92] Western Ethiopia has a seasonal rainfall pattern that is similar to the Sahel. It has rainfall from February to November (which is decreasing to the north), and has peak rainfall from June to September. Southern Ethiopia has a rainfall pattern similar to the one in East Africa. There are two distinct wet seasons every year, February to May, and October to November.^[75][92] Central and eastern Ethiopia has some rainfall between February and November, with a smaller peak in rainfall from March to May and a second higher peak from June to September.^[92]

In 2022 Ethiopia had one of the most severe La Niña-induced droughts in the last forty years. It came about due to four consecutive rainy seasons which did not produce enough rain.^[93] This drought increased water insecurity for more than 8 million pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in the Somali, Oromia, SNNP and South-West regions. About 7.2 million people needed food aid, and 4.4 million people needed help to access water. Food prices have increased a lot due to the drought conditions. Many people in the affected area have experienced food shortages due to the water insecurity situation.^[93]

In the Awash basin in central Ethiopia floods and droughts are common. Agriculture in the basin is mainly rainfed (without irrigation systems). This applies to around 98% of total cropland as of 2012. So changes in rainfall patterns due to climate change will reduce economic activities in the basin.^[94] Rainfall shocks have a direct impact on agriculture. A rainfall decrease in the Awash basin could lead to a 5% decline in the basin’s overall GDP. The agricultural GDP could even drop by as much as 10%.^[94]

Partnerships with the Awash Basin Development Office (AwBDO) and the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity (MoWIE) have led to the development of new models of water allocation in the Awash basin. This can improve water security for the 18.3 million residents in the basin. With this they will have enough water for their domestic, irrigation and industry needs.^[5]

Kenya

[edit]

Further information: Water supply and sanitation in Kenya and Climate change in Kenya

Kenya ranked 46th out of 54 African countries in an assessment of water security in 2022.^[95] Major water security issues in Kenya include drinking water safety, water scarcity, lack of water storage, poor wastewater treatment, and drought and flood.^[95] Large-scale climate patterns influence the rainfall patterns in East Africa. Such climate patterns include the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). Cooling in the Pacific Ocean during the La Niña phase of ENSO is linked with dryer conditions in Kenya. This can lead to drought as it did in 2016-17. On the other hand a warmer Western Indian Ocean due to a strong positive Indian Ocean Dipole caused extreme flooding in Kenya in 2020.^[96]

Around 38% of Kenya’s population and 70% of its livestock live in arid and semi-arid lands.^[97] These areas have low rainfall which varies a lot from one season to the next. This means that surface water and groundwater resources vary a lot by location and time of year. Residents in Northern Kenya are seeing increased changes in rainfall patterns and more frequent droughts.^[98] These changes affect livelihoods in this region where people have been living as migratory herders. They are used to herding livestock with a seasonal migration pattern.^[98] More people are now settling in small urban centers, and there is increasing conflict over water and other resources.^[99] Water insecurity is a feature of life for both settled and nomadic pastoralists. Women and children bear the burden for fetching water.^[100]

Groundwater sources! have great potential to improve water supply in Kenya. However, the use of groundwater is limited by low quality and knowledge, pumping too much groundwater, known as overdrafting, and salt water intrusion along coastal areas.^[101][102] Another challenge is the upkeep of groundwater infrastructure, mainly in rural areas.^[103]

Ukraine

[edit]

Russian forces have destroyed one-third of Ukraine’s freshwater storage since February 2022 to 2024.^[104] Potable, industrial and irrigation water supplies have been cut across the south and east of the country. Occupation of the southern and eastern regions of Ukraine and destruction of the Kakhovka Reservoir have all but terminated irrigation. Irrigated cereals and technical crops are now unprofitable, even where practicable – not least because of the difficulty of selling and exporting the produce. The strategic development of irrigation should be based on optimal technology to minimize water costs and redesign cultivation systems, for example, by drip irrigation, diverse crop rotations and focus on vegetable farming, orchards, and viticulture.^[104][105]

Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula H₂O. It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless,^[c] and nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth‘s hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a solvent^[20]). It is vital for all known forms of life, despite not providing food energy or organic micronutrients. Its chemical formula, H₂O, indicates that each of its molecules contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms, connected by covalent bonds. The hydrogen atoms are attached to the oxygen atom at an angle of 104.45°.^[21] In liquid form, H₂O is also called “water” at standard temperature and pressure.

Because Earth’s environment is relatively close to water’s triple point, water exists on Earth as a solid, a liquid, and a gas.^[22] It forms precipitation in the form of rain and aerosols in the form of fog. Clouds consist of suspended droplets of water and ice, its solid state. When finely divided, crystalline ice may precipitate in the form of snow. The gaseous state of water is steam or water vapor.

Water covers about 71% of the Earth’s surface, with seas and oceans making up most of the water volume (about 96.5%).^[23] Small portions of water occur as groundwater (1.7%), in the glaciers and the ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland (1.7%), and in the air as vapor, clouds (consisting of ice and liquid water suspended in air), and precipitation (0.001%).^[24][25] Water moves continually through the water cycle of evaporation, transpiration (evapotranspiration), condensation, precipitation, and runoff, usually reaching the sea.

Water plays an important role in the world economy. Approximately 70% of the fresh water used by humans goes to agriculture.^[26] Fishing in salt and fresh water bodies has been, and continues to be, a major source of food for many parts of the world, providing 6.5% of global protein.^[27] Much of the long-distance trade of commodities (such as oil, natural gas, and manufactured products) is transported by boats through seas, rivers, lakes, and canals. Large quantities of water, ice, and steam are used for cooling and heating in industry and homes. Water is an excellent solvent for a wide variety of substances, both mineral and organic; as such, it is widely used in industrial processes and in cooking and washing. Water, ice, and snow are also central to many sports and other forms of entertainment, such as swimming, pleasure boating, boat racing, surfing, sport fishing, diving, ice skating, snowboarding, and skiing.

Etymology

The word water comes from Old English wæter, from Proto-Germanic *watar (source also of Old Saxon watar, Old Frisian wetir, Dutch water, Old High German wazzar, German Wasser, vatn, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐍄𐍉 (wato)), from Proto-Indo-European *wod-or, suffixed form of root *wed- (‘water’; ‘wet’).^[28] Also cognate, through the Indo-European root, with Greek ύδωρ (ýdor; from Ancient Greek ὕδωρ (hýdōr), whence English ‘hydro-‘), Russian вода́ (vodá), Irish uisce, and Albanian ujë.

History

Main articles: Origin of water on Earth § History of water on Earth, and Properties of water § History

On Earth

This section is an excerpt from Origin of water on Earth § History of water on Earth.[edit]

One factor in estimating when water appeared on Earth is that water is continually being lost to space. H₂O molecules in the atmosphere are broken up by photolysis, and the resulting free hydrogen atoms can sometimes escape Earth’s gravitational pull. When the Earth was younger and less massive, water would have been lost to space more easily. Lighter elements like hydrogen and helium are expected to leak from the atmosphere continually, but isotopic ratios of heavier noble gases in the modern atmosphere suggest that even the heavier elements in the early atmosphere were subject to significant losses.^[29] In particular, xenon is useful for calculations of water loss over time. Not only is it a noble gas (and therefore is not removed from the atmosphere through chemical reactions with other elements), but comparisons between the abundances of its nine stable isotopes in the modern atmosphere reveal that the Earth lost at least one ocean of water early in its history, between the Hadean and Archean eons.^{[30][clarification needed]}

Any water on Earth during the latter part of its accretion would have been disrupted by the Moon-forming impact (~4.5 billion years ago), which likely vaporized much of Earth’s crust and upper mantle and created a rock-vapor atmosphere around the young planet.^[31][32] The rock vapor would have condensed within two thousand years, leaving behind hot volatiles which probably resulted in a majority carbon dioxide atmosphere with hydrogen and water vapor. Afterward, liquid water oceans may have existed despite the surface temperature of 230 °C (446 °F) due to the increased atmospheric pressure of the CO₂ atmosphere. As the cooling continued, most CO₂ was removed from the atmosphere by subduction and dissolution in ocean water, but levels oscillated wildly as new surface and mantle cycles appeared.^[33]

Geological evidence also helps constrain the time frame for liquid water existing on Earth. A sample of pillow basalt (a type of rock formed during an underwater eruption) was recovered from the Isua Greenstone Belt and provides evidence that water existed on Earth 3.8 billion years ago.^[34] In the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt, Quebec, Canada, rocks dated at 3.8 billion years old by one study^[35] and 4.28 billion years old by another^[36] show evidence of the presence of water at these ages.^[34] If oceans existed earlier than this, any geological evidence has yet to be discovered (which may be because such potential evidence has been destroyed by geological processes like crustal recycling). More recently, in August 2020, researchers reported that sufficient water to fill the oceans may have always been on the Earth since the beginning of the planet’s formation.^[37][38][39]Unlike rocks, minerals called zircons are highly resistant to weathering and geological processes and so are used to understand conditions on the very early Earth. Mineralogical evidence from zircons has shown that liquid water and an atmosphere must have existed 4.404 ± 0.008 billion years ago, very soon after the formation of Earth.^{[40][41][42][43]} This presents somewhat of a paradox, as the cool early Earth hypothesis suggests temperatures were cold enough to freeze water between about 4.4 billion and 4.0 billion years ago. Other studies of zircons found in Australian Hadean rock point to the existence of plate tectonics as early as 4 billion years ago. If true, that implies that rather than a hot, molten surface and an atmosphere full of carbon dioxide, early Earth’s surface was much as it is today (in terms of thermal insulation). The action of plate tectonics traps vast amounts of CO₂, thereby reducing greenhouse effects, leading to a much cooler surface temperature and the formation of solid rock and liquid water.^[44]

Properties

Main article: Properties of water

See also: Water (data page) and Water model

Water (H₂O) is a polar inorganic compound. At room temperature it is a tasteless and odorless liquid, nearly colorless with a hint of blue. The simplest hydrogen chalcogenide, it is by far the most studied chemical compound and is sometimes described as the “universal solvent” for its ability to dissolve more substances than any other liquid,^[45][46] though it is poor at dissolving nonpolar substances.^[47] This allows it to be the “solvent of life”:^[48] indeed, water as found in nature almost always includes various dissolved substances, and special steps are required to obtain chemically pure water. Water is the only common substance to exist as a solid, liquid, and gas in normal terrestrial conditions.^[49]

States

Along with oxidane, water is one of the two official names for the chemical compound H
₂O;^[50] it is also the liquid phase of H
₂O.^[51] The other two common states of matter of water are the solid phase, ice, and the gaseous phase, water vapor or steam. The addition or removal of heat can cause phase transitions: freezing (water to ice), melting (ice to water), vaporization (water to vapor), condensation (vapor to water), sublimation (ice to vapor) and deposition (vapor to ice).^[52]

Density

See also: Frost weathering

Water is one of only a few common naturally occurring substances which, for some temperature ranges, become less dense as they cool, and the only known naturally occurring substance which does so while liquid. In addition it is unusual as it becomes significantly less dense as it freezes, though it is not unique in that respect.^[d]

At 1 atm pressure, it reaches its maximum density of 999.972 kg/m³ (62.4262 lb/cu ft) at 3.98 °C (39.16 °F).^[54][55]

Below that temperature, but above the freezing point of 0 °C (32 °F), it expands becoming less dense until it reaches freezing point, reaching a density in its liquid phase of 999.8 kg/m³ (62.4155 lb/cu ft).

Once it freezes and becomes ice, it expands by about 9%, with a density of 917 kg/m³ (57.25 lb/cu ft).^[56][57] This expansion can exert enormous pressure, bursting pipes and cracking rocks.^[58] As a solid, it displays the usual behavior of contracting and becoming more dense as it cools. These unusual thermal properties have important consequences for life on earth.

In a lake or ocean, water at 4 °C (39 °F) sinks to the bottom, and ice forms on the surface, floating on the liquid water. This ice insulates the water below, preventing it from freezing solid. Without this protection, most aquatic organisms residing in lakes would perish during the winter.^[59] In addition, this anomalous behavior is an important part of the thermohaline circulation which distributes heat around the planet’s oceans.

Magnetism

Water is a diamagnetic material.^[60] Though interaction is weak, with superconducting magnets it can attain a notable interaction.^[60]

Phase transitions

At a pressure of one atmosphere (atm), ice melts or water freezes (solidifies) at 0 °C (32 °F) and water boils or vapor condenses at 100 °C (212 °F). However, even below the boiling point, water can change to vapor at its surface by evaporation (vaporization throughout the liquid is known as boiling). Sublimation and deposition also occur on surfaces.^[52] For example, frost is deposited on cold surfaces while snowflakes form by deposition on an aerosol particle or ice nucleus.^[61] In the process of freeze-drying, a food is frozen and then stored at low pressure so the ice on its surface sublimates.^[62]

The melting and boiling points depend on pressure. A good approximation for the rate of change of the melting temperature with pressure is given by the Clausius–Clapeyron relation:

dTdP=T(vL−vS)Lf

where vL and vS are the molar volumes of the liquid and solid phases, and Lf is the molar latent heat of melting. In most substances, the volume increases when melting occurs, so the melting temperature increases with pressure. However, because ice is less dense than water, the melting temperature decreases.^[53] In glaciers, pressure melting can occur under sufficiently thick volumes of ice, resulting in subglacial lakes.^[63][64]

The Clausius-Clapeyron relation also applies to the boiling point, but with the liquid/gas transition the vapor phase has a much lower density than the liquid phase, so the boiling point increases with pressure.^[65] Water can remain in a liquid state at high temperatures in the deep ocean or underground. For example, temperatures exceed 205 °C (401 °F) in Old Faithful, a geyser in Yellowstone National Park.^[66] In hydrothermal vents, the temperature can exceed 400 °C (752 °F).^[67]

At sea level, the boiling point of water is 100 °C (212 °F). As atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude, the boiling point decreases by 1 °C every 274 meters. High-altitude cooking takes longer than sea-level cooking. For example, at 1,524 metres (5,000 ft), cooking time must be increased by a fourth to achieve the desired result.^[68] Conversely, a pressure cooker can be used to decrease cooking times by raising the boiling temperature.^[69] In a vacuum, water will boil at room temperature.^[70]

Triple and critical points

On a pressure/temperature phase diagram (see figure), there are curves separating solid from vapor, vapor from liquid, and liquid from solid. These meet at a single point called the triple point, where all three phases can coexist. The triple point is at a temperature of 273.16 K (0.01 °C; 32.02 °F) and a pressure of 611.657 pascals (0.00604 atm; 0.0887 psi);^[71] it is the lowest pressure at which liquid water can exist. Until 2019, the triple point was used to define the Kelvin temperature scale.^[72][73]

The water/vapor phase curve terminates at 647.096 K (373.946 °C; 705.103 °F) and 22.064 megapascals (3,200.1 psi; 217.75 atm).^[74] This is known as the critical point. At higher temperatures and pressures the liquid and vapor phases form a continuous phase called a supercritical fluid. It can be gradually compressed or expanded between gas-like and liquid-like densities; its properties (which are quite different from those of ambient water) are sensitive to density. For example, for suitable pressures and temperatures it can mix freely with nonpolar compounds, including most organic compounds. This makes it useful in a variety of applications including high-temperature electrochemistry and as an ecologically benign solvent or catalyst in chemical reactions involving organic compounds. In Earth’s mantle, it acts as a solvent during mineral formation, dissolution and deposition.^[75][76]

Phases of ice and water

Main article: Ice

The normal form of ice on the surface of Earth is ice I_h, a phase that forms crystals with hexagonal symmetry. Another with cubic crystalline symmetry, ice I_c, can occur in the upper atmosphere.^[77] As the pressure increases, ice forms other crystal structures. As of 2024, twenty have been experimentally confirmed and several more are predicted theoretically.^[78] The eighteenth form of ice, ice XVIII, a face-centred-cubic, superionic ice phase, was discovered when a droplet of water was subject to a shock wave that raised the water’s pressure to millions of atmospheres and its temperature to thousands of degrees, resulting in a structure of rigid oxygen atoms in which hydrogen atoms flowed freely.^[79][80] When sandwiched between layers of graphene, ice forms a square lattice.^[81]

The details of the chemical nature of liquid water are not well understood; some theories suggest that its unusual behavior is due to the existence of two liquid states.^{[55][82][83][84]}

Taste and odor

Pure water is usually described as tasteless and odorless, although humans have specific sensors that can feel the presence of water in their mouths,^[85][86] and frogs are known to be able to smell it.^[87] However, water from ordinary sources (including mineral water) usually has many dissolved substances that may give it varying tastes and odors. Humans and other animals have developed senses that enable them to evaluate the potability of water in order to avoid water that is too salty or putrid.^[88]

Color and appearance

Main article: Color of water

See also: Electromagnetic absorption by water

Pure water is visibly blue due to absorption of light in the region c. 600–800 nm.^[89] The color can be easily observed in a glass of tap-water placed against a pure white background, in daylight. The principal absorption bands responsible for the color are overtones of the O–H stretching vibrations. The apparent intensity of the color increases with the depth of the water column, following Beer’s law. This also applies, for example, with a swimming pool when the light source is sunlight reflected from the pool’s white tiles.

In nature, the color may also be modified from blue to green due to the presence of suspended solids or algae.

In industry, near-infrared spectroscopy is used with aqueous solutions as the greater intensity of the lower overtones of water means that glass cuvettes with short path-length may be employed. To observe the fundamental stretching absorption spectrum of water or of an aqueous solution in the region around 3,500 cm⁻¹ (2.85 μm)^[90] a path length of about 25 μm is needed. Also, the cuvette must be both transparent around 3500 cm⁻¹ and insoluble in water; calcium fluoride is one material that is in common use for the cuvette windows with aqueous solutions.

The Raman-active fundamental vibrations may be observed with, for example, a 1 cm sample cell.

Aquatic plants, algae, and other photosynthetic organisms can live in water up to hundreds of meters deep, because sunlight can reach them. Practically no sunlight reaches the parts of the oceans below 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) of depth.

The refractive index of liquid water (1.333 at 20 °C (68 °F)) is much higher than that of air (1.0), similar to those of alkanes and ethanol, but lower than those of glycerol (1.473), benzene (1.501), carbon disulfide (1.627), and common types of glass (1.4 to 1.6). The refraction index of ice (1.31) is lower than that of liquid water.

Molecular polarity

In a water molecule, the hydrogen atoms form a 104.5° angle with the oxygen atom. The hydrogen atoms are close to two corners of a tetrahedron centered on the oxygen. At the other two corners are lone pairs of valence electrons that do not participate in the bonding. In a perfect tetrahedron, the atoms would form a 109.5° angle, but the repulsion between the lone pairs is greater than the repulsion between the hydrogen atoms.^[91][92] The O–H bond length is about 0.096 nm.^[93]

Other substances have a tetrahedral molecular structure, for example methane (CH
₄) and hydrogen sulfide (H
₂S). However, oxygen is more electronegative than most other elements, so the oxygen atom has a negative partial charge while the hydrogen atoms are partially positively charged. Along with the bent structure, this gives the molecule an electrical dipole moment and it is classified as a polar molecule.^[94]

Water is a good polar solvent, dissolving many salts and hydrophilic organic molecules such as sugars and simple alcohols such as ethanol. Water also dissolves many gases, such as oxygen and carbon dioxide—the latter giving the fizz of carbonated beverages, sparkling wines and beers. In addition, many substances in living organisms, such as proteins, DNA and polysaccharides, are dissolved in water. The interactions between water and the subunits of these biomacromolecules shape protein folding, DNA base pairing, and other phenomena crucial to life (hydrophobic effect).

Many organic substances (such as fats and oils and alkanes) are hydrophobic, that is, insoluble in water. Many inorganic substances are insoluble too, including most metal oxides, sulfides, and silicates.

Hydrogen bonding

See also: Chemical bonding of water

Because of its polarity, a molecule of water in the liquid or solid state can form up to four hydrogen bonds with neighboring molecules. Hydrogen bonds are about ten times as strong as the Van der Waals force that attracts molecules to each other in most liquids. This is the reason why the melting and boiling points of water are much higher than those of other analogous compounds like hydrogen sulfide. They also explain its exceptionally high specific heat capacity (about 4.2 J/(g·K)), heat of fusion (about 333 J/g), heat of vaporization (2257 J/g), and thermal conductivity (between 0.561 and 0.679 W/(m·K)). These properties make water more effective at moderating Earth’s climate, by storing heat and transporting it between the oceans and the atmosphere. The hydrogen bonds of water are around 23 kJ/mol (compared to a covalent O-H bond at 492 kJ/mol). Of this, it is estimated that 90% is attributable to electrostatics, while the remaining 10% is partially covalent.^[95]

These bonds are the cause of water’s high surface tension^[96] and capillary forces. The capillary action refers to the tendency of water to move up a narrow tube against the force of gravity. This property is relied upon by all vascular plants, such as trees.^{[citation needed]}

Self-ionization

Main article: Self-ionization of water

Water is a weak solution of hydronium hydroxide—there is an equilibrium 2H
₂O ⇌ H
₃O⁺
 + OH⁻
, in combination with solvation of the resulting hydronium and hydroxide ions.

Electrical conductivity and electrolysis

Pure water has a low electrical conductivity, which increases with the dissolution of a small amount of ionic material such as common salt.

Liquid water can be split into the elements hydrogen and oxygen by passing an electric current through it—a process called electrolysis. The decomposition requires more energy input than the heat released by the inverse process (285.8 kJ/mol, or 15.9 MJ/kg).^[98]

Mechanical properties

Liquid water can be assumed to be incompressible for most purposes: its compressibility ranges from 4.4 to 5.1×10⁻¹⁰ Pa⁻¹ in ordinary conditions.^[99] Even in oceans at 4 km depth, where the pressure is 400 atm, water suffers only a 1.8% decrease in volume.^[100]

The viscosity of water is about 10⁻³ Pa·s or 0.01 poise at 20 °C (68 °F), and the speed of sound in liquid water ranges between 1,400 and 1,540 metres per second (4,600 and 5,100 ft/s) depending on temperature. Sound travels long distances in water with little attenuation, especially at low frequencies (roughly 0.03 dB/km for 1 kHz), a property that is exploited by cetaceans and humans for communication and environment sensing (sonar).^[101]

Reactivity

Metallic elements which are more electropositive than hydrogen, particularly the alkali metals and alkaline earth metals such as lithium, sodium, calcium, potassium and cesium displace hydrogen from water, forming hydroxides and releasing hydrogen. At high temperatures, carbon reacts with steam to form carbon monoxide and hydrogen.^{[citation needed]}

On Earth

Main articles: Hydrology and Water distribution on Earth

Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water throughout the Earth. The study of the distribution of water is hydrography. The study of the distribution and movement of groundwater is hydrogeology, of glaciers is glaciology, of inland waters is limnology and distribution of oceans is oceanography. Ecological processes with hydrology are in the focus of ecohydrology.

The collective mass of water found on, under, and over the surface of a planet is called the hydrosphere. Earth’s approximate water volume (the total water supply of the world) is 1.386 billion cubic kilometres (333 million cubic miles).^[24]

Liquid water is found in bodies of water, such as an ocean, sea, lake, river, stream, canal, pond, or puddle. The majority of water on Earth is seawater. Water is also present in the atmosphere in solid, liquid, and vapor states. It also exists as groundwater in aquifers.

Water is important in many geological processes. Groundwater is present in most rocks, and the pressure of this groundwater affects patterns of faulting. Water in the mantle is responsible for the melt that produces volcanoes at subduction zones. On the surface of the Earth, water is important in both chemical and physical weathering processes. Water, and to a lesser but still significant extent, ice, are also responsible for a large amount of sediment transport that occurs on the surface of the earth. Deposition of transported sediment forms many types of sedimentary rocks, which make up the geologic record of Earth history.

Water cycle

Main article: Water cycle

The water cycle (known scientifically as the hydrologic cycle) is the continuous exchange of water within the hydrosphere, between the atmosphere, soil water, surface water, groundwater, and plants.

Water moves perpetually through each of these regions in the water cycle consisting of the following transfer processes:

• evaporation from oceans and other water bodies into the air and transpiration from land plants and animals into the air.
• precipitation, from water vapor condensing from the air and falling to the earth or ocean.
• runoff from the land usually reaching the sea.

Most water vapors found mostly in the ocean returns to it, but winds carry water vapor over land at the same rate as runoff into the sea, about 47 Tt per year while evaporation and transpiration happening in land masses also contribute another 72 Tt per year. Precipitation, at a rate of 119 Tt per year over land, has several forms: most commonly rain, snow, and hail, with some contribution from fog and dew.^[102] Dew is small drops of water that are condensed when a high density of water vapor meets a cool surface. Dew usually forms in the morning when the temperature is the lowest, just before sunrise and when the temperature of the earth’s surface starts to increase.^[103] Condensed water in the air may also refract sunlight to produce rainbows.

Water runoff often collects over watersheds flowing into rivers. Through erosion, runoff shapes the environment creating river valleys and deltas which provide rich soil and level ground for the establishment of population centers. A flood occurs when an area of land, usually low-lying, is covered with water which occurs when a river overflows its banks or a storm surge happens. On the other hand, drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. This occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation either due to its topography or due to its location in terms of latitude.

Water resources

Main article: Water resources

Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans,^[104] for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. Water occurs as both “stocks” and “flows”. Water can be stored as lakes, water vapor, groundwater or aquifers, and ice and snow. Of the total volume of global freshwater, an estimated 69 percent is stored in glaciers and permanent snow cover; 30 percent is in groundwater; and the remaining 1 percent in lakes, rivers, the atmosphere, and biota.^[105] The length of time water remains in storage is highly variable: some aquifers consist of water stored over thousands of years but lake volumes may fluctuate on a seasonal basis, decreasing during dry periods and increasing during wet ones. A substantial fraction of the water supply for some regions consists of water extracted from water stored in stocks, and when withdrawals exceed recharge, stocks decrease. By some estimates, as much as 30 percent of total water used for irrigation comes from unsustainable withdrawals of groundwater, causing groundwater depletion.^[106]

Seawater and tides

Main articles: Seawater and Tides

Seawater contains about 3.5% sodium chloride on average, plus smaller amounts of other substances. The physical properties of seawater differ from fresh water in some important respects. It freezes at a lower temperature (about −1.9 °C (28.6 °F)) and its density increases with decreasing temperature to the freezing point, instead of reaching maximum density at a temperature above freezing. The salinity of water in major seas varies from about 0.7% in the Baltic Sea to 4.0% in the Red Sea. (The Dead Sea, known for its ultra-high salinity levels of between 30 and 40%, is really a salt lake.)

Tides are the cyclic rising and falling of local sea levels caused by the tidal forces of the Moon and the Sun acting on the oceans. Tides cause changes in the depth of the marine and estuarine water bodies and produce oscillating currents known as tidal streams. The changing tide produced at a given location is the result of the changing positions of the Moon and Sun relative to the Earth coupled with the effects of Earth rotation and the local bathymetry. The strip of seashore that is submerged at high tide and exposed at low tide, the intertidal zone, is an important ecological product of ocean tides.

The Bay of Fundy at high tide and low tide

• High tide
• Low tide

Effects on life

From a biological standpoint, water has many distinct properties that are critical for the proliferation of life. It carries out this role by allowing organic compounds to react in ways that ultimately allow replication. All known forms of life depend on water. Water is vital both as a solvent in which many of the body’s solutes dissolve and as an essential part of many metabolic processes within the body. Metabolism is the sum total of anabolism and catabolism. In anabolism, water is removed from molecules (through energy requiring enzymatic chemical reactions) in order to grow larger molecules (e.g., starches, triglycerides, and proteins for storage of fuels and information). In catabolism, water is used to break bonds in order to generate smaller molecules (e.g., glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids to be used for fuels for energy use or other purposes). Without water, these particular metabolic processes could not exist.

Water is fundamental to both photosynthesis and respiration. Photosynthetic cells use the sun’s energy to split off water’s hydrogen from oxygen.^[107] In the presence of sunlight, hydrogen is combined with CO
₂ (absorbed from air or water) to form glucose and release oxygen.^[108] All living cells use such fuels and oxidize the hydrogen and carbon to capture the sun’s energy and reform water and CO
₂ in the process (cellular respiration).

Water is also central to acid-base neutrality and enzyme function. An acid, a hydrogen ion (H⁺
, that is, a proton) donor, can be neutralized by a base, a proton acceptor such as a hydroxide ion (OH⁻
) to form water. Water is considered to be neutral, with a pH (the negative log of the hydrogen ion concentration) of 7 in an ideal state. Acids have pH values less than 7 while bases have values greater than 7.

Aquatic life forms

Further information: Hydrobiology, Marine life, and Aquatic plant

Earth’s surface waters are filled with life. The earliest life forms appeared in water; nearly all fish live exclusively in water, and there are many types of marine mammals, such as dolphins and whales. Some kinds of animals, such as amphibians, spend portions of their lives in water and portions on land. Plants such as kelp and algae grow in the water and are the basis for some underwater ecosystems. Plankton is generally the foundation of the ocean food chain.

Aquatic vertebrates must obtain oxygen to survive, and they do so in various ways. Fish have gills instead of lungs, although some species of fish, such as the lungfish, have both. Marine mammals, such as dolphins, whales, otters, and seals need to surface periodically to breathe air. Some amphibians are able to absorb oxygen through their skin. Invertebrates exhibit a wide range of modifications to survive in poorly oxygenated waters including breathing tubes (see insect and mollusc siphons) and gills (Carcinus). However, as invertebrate life evolved in an aquatic habitat most have little or no specialization for respiration in water.

• Some of the biodiversity of a coral reef
• Some marine diatoms – a key phytoplankton group
• Squat lobster and Alvinocarididae shrimp at the Von Damm hydrothermal field survive by altered water chemistry.

Effects on human civilization

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Civilization has historically flourished around rivers and major waterways; Mesopotamia, one of the so-called cradles of civilization, was situated between the major rivers Tigris and Euphrates; the ancient society of the Egyptians depended entirely upon the Nile. The early Indus Valley civilization (c. 3300 BCE – c. 1300 BCE) developed along the Indus River and tributaries that flowed out of the Himalayas. Rome was also founded on the banks of the Italian river Tiber. Large metropolises like Rotterdam, London, Montreal, Paris, New York City, Buenos Aires, Shanghai, Tokyo, Chicago, and Hong Kong owe their success in part to their easy accessibility via water and the resultant expansion of trade. Islands with safe water ports, like Singapore, have flourished for the same reason. In places such as North Africa and the Middle East, where water is more scarce, access to clean drinking water was and is a major factor in human development.

Health and pollution

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.^[109][110]

Water that is not fit for drinking but is not harmful to humans when used for swimming or bathing is called by various names other than potable or drinking water, and is sometimes called safe water, or “safe for bathing”. Chlorine is a skin and mucous membrane irritant that is used to make water safe for bathing or drinking. Its use is highly technical and is usually monitored by government regulations (typically 1 part per million (ppm) for drinking water, and 1–2 ppm of chlorine not yet reacted with impurities for bathing water). Water for bathing may be maintained in satisfactory microbiological condition using chemical disinfectants such as chlorine or ozone or by the use of ultraviolet light.

Water reclamation is the process of converting wastewater (most commonly sewage, also called municipal wastewater) into water that can be reused for other purposes. There are 2.3 billion people who reside in nations with water scarcities, which means that each individual receives less than 1,700 cubic metres (60,000 cu ft) of water annually. 380 billion cubic metres (13×10¹² cu ft) of municipal wastewater are produced globally each year.^{[111][112][113]}

Freshwater is a renewable resource, recirculated by the natural hydrologic cycle, but pressures over access to it result from the naturally uneven distribution in space and time, growing economic demands by agriculture and industry, and rising populations. Currently, nearly a billion people around the world lack access to safe, affordable water. In 2000, the United Nations established the Millennium Development Goals for water to halve by 2015 the proportion of people worldwide without access to safe water and sanitation. Progress toward that goal was uneven, and in 2015 the UN committed to the Sustainable Development Goals of achieving universal access to safe and affordable water and sanitation by 2030. Poor water quality and bad sanitation are deadly; some five million deaths a year are caused by water-related diseases. The World Health Organization estimates that safe water could prevent 1.4 million child deaths from diarrhea each year.^[114]

In developing countries, 90% of all municipal wastewater still goes untreated into local rivers and streams.^[115] Some 50 countries, with roughly a third of the world’s population, also suffer from medium or high water scarcity and 17 of these extract more water annually than is recharged through their natural water cycles.^[116] The strain not only affects surface freshwater bodies like rivers and lakes, but it also degrades groundwater resources.

Human uses

Further information: Water supply

Agriculture

The most substantial human use of water is for agriculture, including irrigated agriculture, which accounts for as much as 80 to 90 percent of total human water consumption.^[118] In the United States, 42% of freshwater withdrawn for use is for irrigation, but the vast majority of water “consumed” (used and not returned to the environment) goes to agriculture.^[119]

Access to fresh water is often taken for granted, especially in developed countries that have built sophisticated water systems for collecting, purifying, and delivering water, and removing wastewater. But growing economic, demographic, and climatic pressures are increasing concerns about water issues, leading to increasing competition for fixed water resources, giving rise to the concept of peak water.^[120] As populations and economies continue to grow, consumption of water-thirsty meat expands, and new demands rise for biofuels or new water-intensive industries, new water challenges are likely.^[121]

An assessment of water management in agriculture was conducted in 2007 by the International Water Management Institute in Sri Lanka to see if the world had sufficient water to provide food for its growing population.^[122] It assessed the current availability of water for agriculture on a global scale and mapped out locations suffering from water scarcity. It found that a fifth of the world’s people, more than 1.2 billion, live in areas of physical water scarcity, where there is not enough water to meet all demands. A further 1.6 billion people live in areas experiencing economic water scarcity, where the lack of investment in water or insufficient human capacity make it impossible for authorities to satisfy the demand for water. The report found that it would be possible to produce the food required in the future, but that continuation of today’s food production and environmental trends would lead to crises in many parts of the world. To avoid a global water crisis, farmers will have to strive to increase productivity to meet growing demands for food, while industries and cities find ways to use water more efficiently.^[123]

Water scarcity is also caused by production of water intensive products. For example, cotton: 1 kg of cotton—equivalent of a pair of jeans—requires 10.9 cubic metres (380 cu ft) water to produce. While cotton accounts for 2.4% of world water use, the water is consumed in regions that are already at a risk of water shortage. Significant environmental damage has been caused: for example, the diversion of water by the former Soviet Union from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers to produce cotton was largely responsible for the disappearance of the Aral Sea.^[124]

• Water requirement per tonne of food product
• Water distribution in subsurface drip irrigation
• Irrigation of field crops

As a scientific standard

On 7 April 1795, the gram was defined in France to be equal to “the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to a cube of one-hundredth of a meter, and at the temperature of melting ice”.^[125] For practical purposes though, a metallic reference standard was required, one thousand times more massive, the kilogram. Work was therefore commissioned to determine precisely the mass of one liter of water. In spite of the fact that the decreed definition of the gram specified water at 0 °C (32 °F)—a highly reproducible temperature—the scientists chose to redefine the standard and to perform their measurements at the temperature of highest water density, which was measured at the time as 4 °C (39 °F).^[126]

The Kelvin temperature scale of the SI system was based on the triple point of water, defined as exactly 273.16 K (0.01 °C; 32.02 °F), but as of May 2019 is based on the Boltzmann constant instead. The scale is an absolute temperature scale with the same increment as the Celsius temperature scale, which was originally defined according to the boiling point (set to 100 °C (212 °F)) and melting point (set to 0 °C (32 °F)) of water.

Natural water consists mainly of the isotopes hydrogen-1 and oxygen-16, but there is also a small quantity of heavier isotopes oxygen-18, oxygen-17, and hydrogen-2 (deuterium). The percentage of the heavier isotopes is very small, but it still affects the properties of water. Water from rivers and lakes tends to contain less heavy isotopes than seawater. Therefore, standard water is defined in the Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water specification.

For drinking

Main article: Drinking water

The human body contains from 55% to 78% water, depending on body size.^{[127][user-generated source?]} To function properly, the body requires between one and seven litres (0.22 and 1.54 imp gal; 0.26 and 1.85 US gal)^{[citation needed]} of water per day to avoid dehydration; the precise amount depends on the level of activity, temperature, humidity, and other factors. Most of this is ingested through foods or beverages other than drinking straight water. It is not clear how much water intake is needed by healthy people, though the British Dietetic Association advises that 2.5 liters of total water daily is the minimum to maintain proper hydration, including 1.8 liters (6 to 7 glasses) obtained directly from beverages.^[128] Medical literature favors a lower consumption, typically 1 liter of water for an average male, excluding extra requirements due to fluid loss from exercise or warm weather.^[129]

Healthy kidneys can excrete 0.8 to 1 liter of water per hour, but stress such as exercise can reduce this amount. People can drink far more water than necessary while exercising, putting them at risk of water intoxication (hyperhydration), which can be fatal.^[130][131] The popular claim that “a person should consume eight glasses of water per day” seems to have no real basis in science.^[132] Studies have shown that extra water intake, especially up to 500 millilitres (18 imp fl oz; 17 US fl oz) at mealtime, was associated with weight loss.^{[133][134][135][136][137][138]} Adequate fluid intake is helpful in preventing constipation.^[139]

An original recommendation for water intake in 1945 by the Food and Nutrition Board of the U.S. National Research Council read: “An ordinary standard for diverse persons is 1 milliliter for each calorie of food. Most of this quantity is contained in prepared foods.”^[140] The latest dietary reference intake report by the U.S. National Research Council in general recommended, based on the median total water intake from US survey data (including food sources): 3.7 litres (0.81 imp gal; 0.98 US gal) for men and 2.7 litres (0.59 imp gal; 0.71 US gal) of water total for women, noting that water contained in food provided approximately 19% of total water intake in the survey.^[141]

Specifically, pregnant and breastfeeding women need additional fluids to stay hydrated. The US Institute of Medicine recommends that, on average, men consume 3 litres (0.66 imp gal; 0.79 US gal) and women 2.2 litres (0.48 imp gal; 0.58 US gal); pregnant women should increase intake to 2.4 litres (0.53 imp gal; 0.63 US gal) and breastfeeding women should get 3 liters (12 cups), since an especially large amount of fluid is lost during nursing.^[142] Also noted is that normally, about 20% of water intake comes from food, while the rest comes from drinking water and beverages (caffeinated included). Water is excreted from the body in multiple forms; through urine and feces, through sweating, and by exhalation of water vapor in the breath. With physical exertion and heat exposure, water loss will increase and daily fluid needs may increase as well.

Humans require water with few impurities. Common impurities include metal salts and oxides, including copper, iron, calcium and lead,^{[143][full citation needed]} and harmful bacteria, such as Vibrio. Some solutes are acceptable and even desirable for taste enhancement and to provide needed electrolytes.^[144]

The single largest (by volume) freshwater resource suitable for drinking is Lake Baikal in Siberia.^[145]

Washing

This section is an excerpt from Washing.[edit]

Washing is a method of cleaning, usually with water and soap or detergent. Regularly washing and then rinsing both body and clothing is an essential part of good hygiene and health.^{[146][147][148]}

Often people use soaps and detergents to assist in the emulsification of oils and dirt particles so they can be washed away. The soap can be applied directly, or with the aid of a washcloth or assisted with sponges or similar cleaning tools.

In social contexts, washing refers to the act of bathing, or washing different parts of the body, such as hands, hair, or faces. Excessive washing may damage the hair, causing dandruff, or cause rough skin/skin lesions.^[149][150] Some washing of the body is done ritually in religions like Christianity and Judaism, as an act of purification.

Washing can also refer to washing objects. For example, washing of clothing or other cloth items, like bedsheets, or washing dishes or cookwear. Keeping objects clean, especially if they interact with food or the skin, can help with sanitation. Other kinds of washing focus on maintaining cleanliness and durability of objects that get dirty, such washing one’s car, by lathering the exterior with car soap, or washing tools used in a dirty process.

Transportation

These paragraphs are an excerpt from Maritime transport.[edit]

Maritime transport (or ocean transport) or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers) or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by sea has been widely used throughout recorded history. The advent of aviation has diminished the importance of sea travel for passengers, though it is still popular for short trips and pleasure cruises. Transport by water is cheaper than transport by air or ground,^[151] but significantly slower for longer distances. Maritime transport accounts for roughly 80% of international trade, according to UNCTAD in 2020.

Maritime transport can be realized over any distance by boat, ship, sailboat or barge, over oceans and lakes, through canals or along rivers. Shipping may be for commerce, recreation, or military purposes. While extensive inland shipping is less critical today, the major waterways of the world including many canals are still very important and are integral parts of worldwide economies. Particularly, especially any material can be moved by water; however, water transport becomes impractical when material delivery is time-critical such as various types of perishable produce. Still, water transport is highly cost effective with regular schedulable cargoes, such as trans-oceanic shipping of consumer products – and especially for heavy loads or bulk cargos, such as coal, coke, ores, or grains. Arguably, the Industrial Revolution had its first impacts where cheap water transport by canal, navigations, or shipping by all types of watercraft on natural waterways supported cost-effective bulk transport.Containerization revolutionized maritime transport starting in the 1970s. “General cargo” includes goods packaged in boxes, cases, pallets, and barrels. When a cargo is carried in more than one mode, it is intermodal or co-modal.

Chemical uses

Water is widely used in chemical reactions as a solvent or reactant and less commonly as a solute or catalyst. In inorganic reactions, water is a common solvent, dissolving many ionic compounds, as well as other polar compounds such as ammonia and compounds closely related to water. In organic reactions, it is not usually used as a reaction solvent, because it does not dissolve the reactants well and is amphoteric (acidic and basic) and nucleophilic. Nevertheless, these properties are sometimes desirable. Also, acceleration of Diels-Alder reactions by water has been observed. Supercritical water has recently been a topic of research. Oxygen-saturated supercritical water combusts organic pollutants efficiently.

Heat exchange

Water and steam are a common fluid used for heat exchange, due to its availability and high heat capacity, both for cooling and heating. Cool water may even be naturally available from a lake or the sea. It is especially effective to transport heat through vaporization and condensation of water because of its large latent heat of vaporization. A disadvantage is that metals commonly found in industries such as steel and copper are oxidized faster by untreated water and steam. In almost all thermal power stations, water is used as the working fluid (used in a closed-loop between boiler, steam turbine, and condenser), and the coolant (used to exchange the waste heat to a water body or carry it away by evaporation in a cooling tower). In the United States, cooling power plants is the largest use of water.^[152]

In the nuclear power industry, water can also be used as a neutron moderator. In most nuclear reactors, water is both a coolant and a moderator. This provides something of a passive safety measure, as removing the water from the reactor also slows the nuclear reaction down. However other methods are favored for stopping a reaction and it is preferred to keep the nuclear core covered with water so as to ensure adequate cooling.

Fire considerations

Water has a high heat of vaporization and is relatively inert, which makes it a good fire extinguishing fluid. The evaporation of water carries heat away from the fire. It is dangerous to use water on fires involving oils and organic solvents because many organic materials float on water and the water tends to spread the burning liquid.

Use of water in fire fighting should also take into account the hazards of a steam explosion, which may occur when water is used on very hot fires in confined spaces, and of a hydrogen explosion, when substances which react with water, such as certain metals or hot carbon such as coal, charcoal, or coke graphite, decompose the water, producing water gas.

The power of such explosions was seen in the Chernobyl disaster, although the water involved in this case did not come from fire-fighting but from the reactor’s own water cooling system. A steam explosion occurred when the extreme overheating of the core caused water to flash into steam. A hydrogen explosion may have occurred as a result of a reaction between steam and hot zirconium.

Some metallic oxides, most notably those of alkali metals and alkaline earth metals, produce so much heat in reaction with water that a fire hazard can develop. The alkaline earth oxide quicklime, also known as calcium oxide, is a mass-produced substance that is often transported in paper bags. If these are soaked through, they may ignite as their contents react with water.^[153]

Recreation

Main article: Water sport (recreation)

Humans use water for many recreational purposes, as well as for exercising and for sports. Some of these include swimming, waterskiing, boating, surfing and diving. In addition, some sports, like ice hockey and ice skating, are played on ice. Lakesides, beaches and water parks are popular places for people to go to relax and enjoy recreation. Many find the sound and appearance of flowing water to be calming, and fountains and other flowing water structures are popular decorations. Some keep fish and other flora and fauna inside aquariums or ponds for show, fun, and companionship. Humans also use water for snow sports such as skiing, sledding, snowmobiling or snowboarding, which require the water to be at a low temperature either as ice or crystallized into snow.

Water industry

The water industry provides drinking water and wastewater services (including sewage treatment) to households and industry. Water supply facilities include water wells, cisterns for rainwater harvesting, water supply networks, and water purification facilities, water tanks, water towers, water pipes including old aqueducts. Atmospheric water generators are in development.

Drinking water is often collected at springs, extracted from artificial borings (wells) in the ground, or pumped from lakes and rivers. Building more wells in adequate places is thus a possible way to produce more water, assuming the aquifers can supply an adequate flow. Other water sources include rainwater collection. Water may require purification for human consumption. This may involve the removal of undissolved substances, dissolved substances and harmful microbes. Popular methods are filtering with sand which only removes undissolved material, while chlorination and boiling kill harmful microbes. Distillation does all three functions. More advanced techniques exist, such as reverse osmosis. Desalination of abundant seawater is a more expensive solution used in coastal arid climates.

The distribution of drinking water is done through municipal water systems, tanker delivery or as bottled water. Governments in many countries have programs to distribute water to the needy at no charge.

Reducing usage by using drinking (potable) water only for human consumption is another option. In some cities such as Hong Kong, seawater is extensively used for flushing toilets citywide in order to conserve freshwater resources.

Polluting water may be the biggest single misuse of water; to the extent that a pollutant limits other uses of the water, it becomes a waste of the resource, regardless of benefits to the polluter. Like other types of pollution, this does not enter standard accounting of market costs, being conceived as externalities for which the market cannot account. Thus other people pay the price of water pollution, while the private firms’ profits are not redistributed to the local population, victims of this pollution. Pharmaceuticals consumed by humans often end up in the waterways and can have detrimental effects on aquatic life if they bioaccumulate and if they are not biodegradable.

Municipal and industrial wastewater are typically treated at wastewater treatment plants. Mitigation of polluted surface runoff is addressed through a variety of prevention and treatment techniques.

• A water-carrier in India, 1882. In many places where running water is not available, water has to be transported by people.
• A manual water pump in China
• Water purification facility
• Reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant in Barcelona, Spain

Industrial applications

Many industrial processes rely on reactions using chemicals dissolved in water, suspension of solids in water slurries or using water to dissolve and extract substances, or to wash products or process equipment. Processes such as mining, chemical pulping, pulp bleaching, paper manufacturing, textile production, dyeing, printing, and cooling of power plants use large amounts of water, requiring a dedicated water source, and often cause significant water pollution.

Water is used in power generation. Hydroelectricity is electricity obtained from hydropower. Hydroelectric power comes from water driving a water turbine connected to a generator. Hydroelectricity is a low-cost, non-polluting, renewable energy source. The energy is supplied by the motion of water. Typically a dam is constructed on a river, creating an artificial lake behind it. Water flowing out of the lake is forced through turbines that turn generators.

Three Gorges Dam is the largest hydro-electric power station in the world.

Pressurized water is used in water blasting and water jet cutters. High pressure water guns are used for precise cutting. It works very well, is relatively safe, and is not harmful to the environment. It is also used in the cooling of machinery to prevent overheating, or prevent saw blades from overheating.

Water is also used in many industrial processes and machines, such as the steam turbine and heat exchanger, in addition to its use as a chemical solvent. Discharge of untreated water from industrial uses is pollution. Pollution includes discharged solutes (chemical pollution) and discharged coolant water (thermal pollution). Industry requires pure water for many applications and uses a variety of purification techniques both in water supply and discharge.

Food processing

Boiling, steaming, and simmering are popular cooking methods that often require immersing food in water or its gaseous state, steam.^[154] Water is also used for dishwashing. Water also plays many critical roles within the field of food science.

Solutes such as salts and sugars found in water affect the physical properties of water. The boiling and freezing points of water are affected by solutes, as well as air pressure, which is in turn affected by altitude. Water boils at lower temperatures with the lower air pressure that occurs at higher elevations. One mole of sucrose (sugar) per kilogram of water raises the boiling point of water by 0.51 °C (0.918 °F), and one mole of salt per kg raises the boiling point by 1.02 °C (1.836 °F); similarly, increasing the number of dissolved particles lowers water’s freezing point.^[155]

Solutes in water also affect water activity that affects many chemical reactions and the growth of microbes in food.^[156] Water activity can be described as a ratio of the vapor pressure of water in a solution to the vapor pressure of pure water.^[155] Solutes in water lower water activity—this is important to know because most bacterial growth ceases at low levels of water activity.^[156] Not only does microbial growth affect the safety of food, but also the preservation and shelf life of food.

Water hardness is also a critical factor in food processing and may be altered or treated by using a chemical ion exchange system. It can dramatically affect the quality of a product, as well as playing a role in sanitation. Water hardness is classified based on concentration of calcium carbonate the water contains. Water is classified as soft if it contains less than 100 mg/L (UK)^[157] or less than 60 mg/L (US).^[158]

According to a report published by the Water Footprint organization in 2010, a single kilogram of beef requires 15 thousand litres (3.3×10³ imp gal; 4.0×10³ US gal) of water; however, the authors also make clear that this is a global average and circumstantial factors determine the amount of water used in beef production.^[159]

Medical use

Water for injection is on the World Health Organization‘s list of essential medicines.^[160]

Distribution in nature

In the universe

Much of the universe’s water is produced as a byproduct of star formation. The formation of stars is accompanied by a strong outward wind of gas and dust. When this outflow of material eventually impacts the surrounding gas, the shock waves that are created compress and heat the gas. The water observed is quickly produced in this warm dense gas.^[162]

On 22 July 2011, a report described the discovery of a gigantic cloud of water vapor containing “140 trillion times more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined” around a quasar located 12 billion light years from Earth. According to the researchers, the “discovery shows that water has been prevalent in the universe for nearly its entire existence”.^[163][164]

Water has been detected in interstellar clouds within the Milky Way.^[165] Water probably exists in abundance in other galaxies, too, because its components, hydrogen, and oxygen, are among the most abundant elements in the universe. Based on models of the formation and evolution of the Solar System and that of other star systems, most other planetary systems are likely to have similar ingredients.

Water vapor

Water is present as vapor in:

• Atmosphere of the Sun: in detectable trace amounts^[166]
• Atmosphere of Mercury: 3.4%, and large amounts of water in Mercury’s exosphere^[167]
• Atmosphere of Venus: 0.002%^[168]
• Earth’s atmosphere: ≈0.40% over full atmosphere, typically 1–4% at surface; as well as that of the Moon in trace amounts^[169]
• Atmosphere of Mars: 0.03%^[170]
• Atmosphere of Ceres^[171]
• Atmosphere of Jupiter: 0.0004%^[172] – in ices only; and that of its moon Europa^[173]
• Atmosphere of Saturn – in ices only; Enceladus: 91%^[174] and Dione (exosphere)^{[citation needed]}
• Atmosphere of Uranus – in trace amounts below 50 bar
• Atmosphere of Neptune – found in the deeper layers^[175]
• Extrasolar planet atmospheres: including those of HD 189733 b^[176] and HD 209458 b,^[177] Tau Boötis b,^[178] HAT-P-11b,^[179][180] XO-1b, WASP-12b, WASP-17b, and WASP-19b.^[181]
• Stellar atmospheres: not limited to cooler stars and even detected in giant hot stars such as Betelgeuse, Mu Cephei, Antares and Arcturus.^[180][182]
• Circumstellar disks: including those of more than half of T Tauri stars such as AA Tauri^[180] as well as TW Hydrae,^[183][184] IRC +10216^[185] and APM 08279+5255,^[163][164] VY Canis Majoris and S Persei.^[182]

Liquid water

Liquid water is present on Earth, covering 71% of its surface.^[23] Liquid water is also occasionally present in small amounts on Mars.^[186] Scientists believe liquid water is present in the Saturnian moons of Enceladus, as a 10-kilometre thick ocean approximately 30–40 kilometers below Enceladus’ south polar surface,^[187][188] and Titan, as a subsurface layer, possibly mixed with ammonia.^[189] Jupiter’s moon Europa has surface characteristics which suggest a subsurface liquid water ocean.^[190] Liquid water may also exist on Jupiter’s moon Ganymede as a layer sandwiched between high pressure ice and rock.^[191]

Water ice

Water is present as ice on:

• Water ice in the Korolev crater on MarsMars: under the regolith and at the poles.^[192][193]
• Earth–Moon system: mainly as ice sheets on Earth and in Lunar craters and volcanic rocks^[194] NASA reported the detection of water molecules by NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper aboard the Indian Space Research Organization’s Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft in September 2009.^[195]
• Ceres^{[196][197][198]}
• Jupiter’s moons: Europa‘s surface and also that of Ganymede^[199] and Callisto^[200][201]
• Saturn: in the planet’s ring system^[202] and on the surface and mantle of Titan^[203] and Enceladus^[204]
• Pluto–Charon system^[202]
• Comets^[205][206] and other related Kuiper belt and Oort cloud objects^[207]

And is also likely present on:

• Mercury‘s poles^[208]
• Tethys^[209]

Exotic forms

Water and other volatiles probably comprise much of the internal structures of Uranus and Neptune and the water in the deeper layers may be in the form of ionic water in which the molecules break down into a soup of hydrogen and oxygen ions, and deeper still as superionic water in which the oxygen crystallizes, but the hydrogen ions float about freely within the oxygen lattice.^[210]

Water and planetary habitability

Further information: Water distribution on Earth and Planetary habitability

The existence of liquid water, and to a lesser extent its gaseous and solid forms, on Earth are vital to the existence of life on Earth as we know it. The Earth is located in the habitable zone of the Solar System; if it were slightly closer to or farther from the Sun (about 5%, or about 8 million kilometers), the conditions which allow the three forms to be present simultaneously would be far less likely to exist.^[211][212]

Earth’s gravity allows it to hold an atmosphere. Water vapor and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere provide a temperature buffer (greenhouse effect) which helps maintain a relatively steady surface temperature. If Earth were smaller, a thinner atmosphere would allow temperature extremes, thus preventing the accumulation of water except in polar ice caps (as on Mars).^{[citation needed]}

The surface temperature of Earth has been relatively constant through geologic time despite varying levels of incoming solar radiation (insolation), indicating that a dynamic process governs Earth’s temperature via a combination of greenhouse gases and surface or atmospheric albedo. This proposal is known as the Gaia hypothesis.^{[citation needed]}

The state of water on a planet depends on ambient pressure, which is determined by the planet’s gravity. If a planet is sufficiently massive, the water on it may be solid even at high temperatures, because of the high pressure caused by gravity, as it was observed on exoplanets Gliese 436 b^[213] and GJ 1214 b.^[214]

Law, politics, and crisis

Main articles: Water law, Water right, and Water scarcity

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2022)

Water politics is politics affected by water and water resources. Water, particularly fresh water, is a strategic resource across the world and an important element in many political conflicts. It causes health impacts and damage to biodiversity.

Access to safe drinking water has improved over the last decades in almost every part of the world, but approximately one billion people still lack access to safe water and over 2.5 billion lack access to adequate sanitation.^[215] However, some observers have estimated that by 2025 more than half of the world population will be facing water-based vulnerability.^[216] A report, issued in November 2009, suggests that by 2030, in some developing regions of the world, water demand will exceed supply by 50%.^[217]

1.6 billion people have gained access to a safe water source since 1990.^[218] The proportion of people in developing countries with access to safe water is calculated to have improved from 30% in 1970^[219] to 71% in 1990, 79% in 2000, and 84% in 2004.^[215]

A 2006 United Nations report stated that “there is enough water for everyone”, but that access to it is hampered by mismanagement and corruption.^[220] In addition, global initiatives to improve the efficiency of aid delivery, such as the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, have not been taken up by water sector donors as effectively as they have in education and health, potentially leaving multiple donors working on overlapping projects and recipient governments without empowerment to act.^[221]

The authors of the 2007 Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture cited poor governance as one reason for some forms of water scarcity. Water governance is the set of formal and informal processes through which decisions related to water management are made. Good water governance is primarily about knowing what processes work best in a particular physical and socioeconomic context. Mistakes have sometimes been made by trying to apply ‘blueprints’ that work in the developed world to developing world locations and contexts. The Mekong river is one example; a review by the International Water Management Institute of policies in six countries that rely on the Mekong river for water found that thorough and transparent cost-benefit analyses and environmental impact assessments were rarely undertaken. They also discovered that Cambodia’s draft water law was much more complex than it needed to be.^[222]

In 2004, the UK charity WaterAid reported that a child dies every 15 seconds from easily preventable water-related diseases, which are often tied to a lack of adequate sanitation.^[223][224]

Since 2003, the UN World Water Development Report, produced by the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme, has provided decision-makers with tools for developing sustainable water policies.^[225] The 2023 report states that two billion people (26% of the population) do not have access to drinking water and 3.6 billion (46%) lack access to safely managed sanitation.^[226] People in urban areas (2.4 billion) will face water scarcity by 2050.^[225] Water scarcity has been described as endemic, due to overconsumption and pollution.^[227] The report states that 10% of the world’s population lives in countries with high or critical water stress. Yet over the past 40 years, water consumption has increased by around 1% per year, and is expected to grow at the same rate until 2050. Since 2000, flooding in the tropics has quadrupled, while flooding in northern mid-latitudes has increased by a factor of 2.5.^[228] The cost of these floods between 2000 and 2019 was 100,000 deaths and $650 million.^[225]

Organizations concerned with water protection include the International Water Association (IWA), WaterAid, Water 1st, and the American Water Resources Association. The International Water Management Institute undertakes projects with the aim of using effective water management to reduce poverty. Water related conventions are United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and Ramsar Convention. World Day for Water takes place on 22 March^[229] and World Oceans Day on 8 June.^[230]

In culture

Religion

Main article: Water and religion

See also: Sacred waters

Water is considered a purifier in most religions. Faiths that incorporate ritual washing (ablution) include Christianity,^[231] Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, the Rastafari movement, Shinto, Taoism, and Wicca. Immersion (or aspersion or affusion) of a person in water is a central Sacrament of Christianity (where it is called baptism); it is also a part of the practice of other religions, including Islam (Ghusl), Judaism (mikvah) and Sikhism (Amrit Sanskar). In addition, a ritual bath in pure water is performed for the dead in many religions including Islam and Judaism. In Islam, the five daily prayers can be done in most cases after washing certain parts of the body using clean water (wudu), unless water is unavailable (see Tayammum). In Shinto, water is used in almost all rituals to cleanse a person or an area (e.g., in the ritual of misogi).

In Christianity, holy water is water that has been sanctified by a priest for the purpose of baptism, the blessing of persons, places, and objects, or as a means of repelling evil.^[232][233]

In Zoroastrianism, water (āb) is respected as the source of life.^[234]

Philosophy

The Ancient Greek philosopher Empedocles saw water as one of the four classical elements (along with fire, earth, and air), and regarded it as an ylem, or basic substance of the universe. Thales, whom Aristotle portrayed as an astronomer and an engineer, theorized that the earth, which is denser than water, emerged from the water. Thales, a monist, believed further that all things are made from water. Plato believed that the shape of water is an icosahedron – flowing easily compared to the cube-shaped earth.^[235]

The theory of the four bodily humors associated water with phlegm, as being cold and moist. The classical element of water was also one of the five elements in traditional Chinese philosophy (along with earth, fire, wood, and metal).

Some traditional and popular Asian philosophical systems take water as a role-model. James Legge‘s 1891 translation of the Dao De Jing states, “The highest excellence is like (that of) water. The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving (to the contrary), the low place which all men dislike. Hence (its way) is near to (that of) the Tao” and “There is nothing in the world more soft and weak than water, and yet for attacking things that are firm and strong there is nothing that can take precedence of it—for there is nothing (so effectual) for which it can be changed.”^[236] Guanzi in the “Shui di” 水地 chapter further elaborates on the symbolism of water, proclaiming that “man is water” and attributing natural qualities of the people of different Chinese regions to the character of local water resources.^[237]

Folklore

“Living water” features in Germanic and Slavic folktales as a means of bringing the dead back to life. Note the Grimm fairy-tale (“The Water of Life“) and the Russian dichotomy of living [ru] and dead water [ru]. The Fountain of Youth represents a related concept of magical waters allegedly preventing aging.

Art and activism

In the significant modernist novel Ulysses (1922) by Irish writer James Joyce, the chapter “Ithaca” takes the form of a catechism of 309 questions and answers, one of which is known as the “water hymn”.^[238]: 91 According to Richard E. Madtes, the hymn is not merely a “monotonous string of facts”, rather, its phrases, like their subject, “ebb and flow, heave and swell, gather and break, until they subside into the calm quiescence of the concluding ‘pestilential fens, faded flowerwater, stagnant pools in the waning moon.’”^[238]: 79 The hymn is considered one of the most remarkable passages in Ithaca, and according to literary critic Hugh Kenner, achieves “the improbable feat of raising to poetry all the clutter of footling information that has accumulated in schoolbooks.”^[238]: 91 The literary motif of water represents the novel’s theme of “everlasting, everchanging life,” and the hymn represents the culmination of the motif in the novel.^[238]: 91 The following is the hymn quoted in full.^[239]

What in water did Bloom, waterlover, drawer of water, watercarrier returning to the range, admire?
Its universality: its democratic equality and constancy to its nature in seeking its own level: its vastness in the ocean of Mercator’s projection: its unplumbed profundity in the Sundam trench of the Pacific exceeding 8,000 fathoms: the restlessness of its waves and surface particles visiting in turn all points of its seaboard: the independence of its units: the variability of states of sea: its hydrostatic quiescence in calm: its hydrokinetic turgidity in neap and spring tides: its subsidence after devastation: its sterility in the circumpolar icecaps, arctic and antarctic: its climatic and commercial significance: its preponderance of 3 to 1 over the dry land of the globe: its indisputable hegemony extending in square leagues over all the region below the subequatorial tropic of Capricorn: the multisecular stability of its primeval basin: its luteofulvous bed: its capacity to dissolve and hold in solution all soluble substances including millions of tons of the most precious metals: its slow erosions of peninsulas and downwardtending promontories: its alluvial deposits: its weight and volume and density: its imperturbability in lagoons and highland tarns: its gradation of colours in the torrid and temperate and frigid zones: its vehicular ramifications in continental lakecontained streams and confluent oceanflowing rivers with their tributaries and transoceanic currents: gulfstream, north and south equatorial courses: its violence in seaquakes, waterspouts, artesian wells, eruptions, torrents, eddies, freshets, spates, groundswells, watersheds, waterpartings, geysers, cataracts, whirlpools, maelstroms, inundations, deluges, cloudbursts: its vast circumterrestrial ahorizontal curve: its secrecy in springs, and latent humidity, revealed by rhabdomantic or hygrometric instruments and exemplified by the well by the hole in the wall at Ashtown gate, saturation of air, distillation of dew: the simplicity of its composition, two constituent parts of hydrogen with one constituent part of oxygen: its healing virtues: its buoyancy in the waters of the Dead Sea: its persevering penetrativeness in runnels, gullies, inadequate dams, leaks on shipboard: its properties for cleansing, quenching thirst and fire, nourishing vegetation: its infallibility as paradigm and paragon: its metamorphoses as vapour, mist, cloud, rain, sleet, snow, hail: its strength in rigid hydrants: its variety of forms in loughs and bays and gulfs and bights and guts and lagoons and atolls and archipelagos and sounds and fjords and minches and tidal estuaries and arms of sea: its solidity in glaciers, icebergs, icefloes: its docility in working hydraulic millwheels, turbines, dynamos, electric power stations, bleachworks, tanneries, scutchmills: its utility in canals, rivers, if navigable, floating and graving docks: its potentiality derivable from harnessed tides or watercourses falling from level to level: its submarine fauna and flora (anacoustic, photophobe) numerically, if not literally, the inhabitants of the globe: its ubiquity as constituting 90% of the human body: the noxiousness of its effluvia in lacustrine marshes, pestilential fens, faded flowerwater, stagnant pools in the waning moon.

Painter and activist Fredericka Foster curated The Value of Water, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City,^[240] which anchored a year-long initiative by the Cathedral on our dependence on water.^[241][242] The largest exhibition to ever appear at the Cathedral,^[243] it featured over forty artists, including Jenny Holzer, Robert Longo, Mark Rothko, William Kentridge, April Gornik, Kiki Smith, Pat Steir, Alice Dalton Brown, Teresita Fernandez and Bill Viola.^[244][245] Foster created Think About Water,^{[246][full citation needed]} an ecological collective of artists who use water as their subject or medium. Members include Basia Irland,^{[247][full citation needed]} Aviva Rahmani, Betsy Damon, Diane Burko, Leila Daw, Stacy Levy, Charlotte Coté,^[248] Meridel Rubenstein, and Anna Macleod.

To mark the 10th anniversary of access to water and sanitation being declared a human right by the UN, the charity WaterAid commissioned ten visual artists to show the impact of clean water on people’s lives.^[249][250]

Dihydrogen monoxide parody

Main article: Dihydrogen monoxide parody

‘Dihydrogen monoxide’ is a technically correct but rarely used chemical name of water. This name has been used in a series of hoaxes and pranks that mock scientific illiteracy. This began in 1983, when an April Fools’ Day article appeared in a newspaper in Durand, Michigan. The false story consisted of safety concerns about the substance.^[251]

Music

The word “Water” has been used by many Florida based rappers as a sort of catchphrase or adlib. Rappers who have done this include BLP Kosher and Ski Mask the Slump God.^[252] To go even further some rappers have made whole songs dedicated to the water in Florida, such as the 2023 Danny Towers song “Florida Water”.^[253] Others have made whole songs dedicated to water as a whole, such as XXXTentacion, and Ski Mask the Slump God with their hit song “H2O”.