Three out of four of the jobs worldwide are water-dependent.

In fact, water shortages and

lack of access may limit economic growth in the years to come. From its collection, through
various uses, to its ultimate return to the natural environment, water is a key factor in the
development of job opportunities either directly related to its management, supply, infrastructure,
wastewater treatment, etc, or in economic sectors that are heavily water-dependent such as
agriculture, fishing, power, industry and health. Furthermore, good access to drinking water and
sanitation promotes an educated and healthy workforce, which constitutes an essential factor for
sustained economic growth. In its analysis of the economic impact of access to water, the report
cites numerous studies that show a positive correlation between investments in the water sector
and economic growth. It also highlights the key role of water in the transition to a green economy.
There are many, many ways that we use our water, and that is partly why it is so important that we
conserve our water. Water is our most precious resource. Water is vital to life. Humans, plants,
and animals are made up of mostly water. All living things would die if it weren't for water. We
use water for drinking, washing, cleaning, cooking, and growing our food as well as many, many
other things.

Commercial water use includes fresh water for motels, hotels, restaurants, office buildings,
other commercial facilities, and civilian and military institutions. Domestic water use is probably
the most important daily use of water for most people. Domestic use includes water that is used in
the home every day, including water for normal household purposes, such as drinking, food
preparation, bathing, washing clothes and dishes, flushing toilets, and watering lawns and gardens.

Industrial water use is a valuable resource to the nation's industries for such purposes as
processing, cleaning, transportation, dilution, and cooling in manufacturing facilities. Major water-
using industries include steel, chemical, paper, and petroleum refining. Industries often reuse the
same water over and over for more than one purpose. Hydroelectric plants are the largest users of
water. Hydroelectric plants capture the kinetic energy of falling water to make electricity. They do
this with a dam. The dam forces the water level to go up so that the water will have more power
when falling. The force of the falling water pressing against the turbines' blades cause them to spin.
The spinning turbines transmit the kinetic energy of the falling water to generators. The generators
spin when the turbines spin generating electricity that will be transmitted on the power lines to
homes and businesses. Of all the electricity in the world, about 20% is generated by hydropower.
Hydropower generating prevents a lot of pollution. Hydropower generating is clean and does not
leave any waste. Because of the electricity generated by hydropower, the amount of oil and coal
needed to produce enough electricity is reduced. It prevents the need to burn about 22 billion
gallons of oil or 120 million tons of coal each year. The amount of electricity that a hydroelectric
plant produces depends on two things, how far the water falls and the quantity of water falling.
The higher the dam, the further the water falls and the more electric power produced. If the water
falls twice as far, there will be twice as much electricity generated. The quantity of water that falls
also affects the amount of power produced. The more water that flows through the turbines making
them spin, the more electric power produced.

Irrigation water use is water artificially applied to farm, orchard, pasture, and horticultural
crops, as well as water used to irrigate pastures, for frost and freeze protection, chemical
application, crop cooling, harvesting, and for the leaching of salts from the crop root zone.
Nonagricultural activities include self-supplied water to irrigate public and private golf courses,
parks, nurseries, turf farms, cemeteries, and other landscape irrigation uses. The importance of
irrigation is illustrated by the large amount of fresh water that is used to cultivate crops, which are
consumed domestically and throughout the world. In fact, irrigation is the largest category of water
use in worldwide. In surface irrigation systems, water moves across the surface of agricultural
lands, in order to wet it and infiltrate into the soil. Surface irrigation can be subdivided into furrow,
border strip or basin irrigation. It is often called flood irrigation when the irrigation results in
flooding or near flooding of the cultivated land. Historically, this has been the most common
method of irrigating agricultural land and still is in most parts of the world. Where water levels
from the irrigation source permit, the levels are controlled by dikes, usually plugged by soil. This
is often seen in terraced rice fields (rice paddies), where the method is used to flood or control the
level of water in each distinct field. In some cases, the water is pumped, or lifted by human or
animal power to the level of the land. The field water efficiency of surface irrigation is typically
lower than other forms of irrigation but has the potential for efficiencies in the range of 70% - 90%
under appropriate management.

Livestock water use includes water for stock animals, feed lots, dairies, fish farms, and
other nonfarm needs. Water is needed for the production of red meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and wool,
and for horses, rabbits, and pets. Livestock water use only includes fresh water. Livestock water
use is water associated with livestock watering, feedlots, dairy operations, and other on-farm needs.
Livestock includes dairy cows and heifers, beef cattle and calves, sheep and lambs, goats, hogs
and pigs, horses, and poultry. Other livestock water uses include cooling of facilities for the
animals and animal products such as milk, dairy sanitation and wash down of facilities, animal
waste-disposal systems, and incidental water losses.

Mining water use includes water for the extraction of naturally occurring minerals; solids,
such as coal and ores; liquids, such as crude petroleum; and gases, such as natural gas. The category
includes quarrying, milling (such as crushing, screening, washing, and flotation), and other
operations as part of mining activity. A significant portion of the water used for mining, about 32
percent, is saline. Water is essential in industry. It is heated and the steam is used to run machinery.
Water is used to cool hot metal such as in the production of steel. Water is also used to cool the
air. It is an important element in many products like chemicals, drugs, lotions, shampoos,
cosmetics, cleaners, and also beverages. Water is used in processing food and in innumerable
factories and industrial processes including the manufacturing of paper. Water used in processing
foods and beverages must be absolutely clean, while other industries such as a manufacturing plant
may use a lower quality of water.

Public Supply water use refers to water withdrawn by public and private water suppliers,
such as county and municipal water works, and delivered to users for domestic, commercial, and
industrial purposes.

Thermoelectric Power water use is the amount of water used in the production of electric
power generated with heat. The source of the heat may be from fossil fuels, nuclear fission, or
geothermal. Fossil fuel power plants typically reuse water. They generate electricity by turning a
turbine using steam power. After the steam is used to turn the turbines, it is condensed back to
water by cooling it. The condensed water is then routed back to the boiler, where the cycle begins
again. Production of electrical power results in one of the largest uses of water in the world. Water
for thermoelectric power is used in generating electricity with steam-driven turbine generators.
Surface water was the source for more than 99 percent of total thermoelectric-power withdrawals.
In coastal areas, the use of saline water instead of freshwater expands the overall available water
supply. Thermoelectric-power withdrawals accounted for 49 percent of total water use, 41 percent
of total freshwater withdrawals for all categories, and 53 percent of fresh surface-water
withdrawals. One of the main uses of water in the power industry is to cool the power-producing
equipment. Water used for this purpose does cool the equipment, but at the same time, the hot
equipment heats up the cooling water. Overly hot water cannot be released back into the
environment, fish downstream from a power plant releasing the hot water would get very upset.
So, the used water must first be cooled. One way to do this is to build very large cooling towers
and to spray the water inside the towers. Evaporation occurs and water is cooled. That is why large
power-production facilities are often located near rivers, lakes, and the ocean.

A number of key messages emerge from the foregoing discussion of water resources.
Demand for these limited resources continues to increase as populations grow and move. Sound
management depends on reliable information about the quantity and quality of water available and
how this availability varies in time and from place to place. It is important to enhance the
understanding of all elements of the water cycle and how human activities affect it, so that water
resources can be protected and developed sustainably. Climate change greatly affects weather,
precipitation, and the entire water cycle, including water resources both above and below ground.
The growing problem of surface water availability and the increasing levels of water pollution and
water diversions threaten to hamper or even disrupt social and economic development in many
areas, as well as the health of ecosystems. Groundwater resources can help meet demand, but too
much of it is being withdrawn and some of it is being polluted. It is important to better control the
use of underground water that will not be replenished. Longstanding practices, such as collecting
rainwater, are being refined and supplemented by newer techniques such as artificial recharge,
desalination and re-use. More support is needed, not only for innovative technical solutions to
improve supplies, but also for the management of demand and the promotion of efficiency in water
use. Growing changes in the availability of water resources will require political support for the
collection of information on water resources. That information will allow policy-makers to make
better decisions about the management and use of water.