Water is essential for all living things,  including us!

Fresh water is naturally occurring water that is not salty, and is suitable for consumption if clean or processed and represents only a small fraction of water on the planet. 

Water cycles on planet Earth over and over again—we can’t make new water! 

Some freshwater is locked in ice and underground and is not always easily accessible for human use.

We rely on water daily in both obvious and hidden ways, from hydration to food production, industry and manufacturing. Students will discover what it means to calculate their “water footprint”, that is  how much water it takes to produce food, energy and all our stuff…what we are calling their water footprint.

Even though we think of Planet Earth as Blue, humans and other living things need freshwater to live.  

In a group activity using cash register tape cut in 1 meter lengths, students explore and explain the difference between salty water and ”fresh” as well as consumable or “potable” 

Follow this with a class demonstration  using a Liter of water that represents all the water on planet earth.  Source for the following activity: USGS Bar Graphs–Where is the Earth’s Water?

Ask where most of the water on earth is located (it’s in the oceans). If necessary, refer to a map or globe.  

After this activity, students will discover that there is  a very small amount of water available for human use. Remind the class of their earlier guesses at how much water is available to humans and compare with the actual percent available. Have students explain their reasoning for their initial estimates.

Thinking back to the dishwashing, students might be able to estimate how much water they use in the course of a day. Using the Water Footprint Calculator from Grace Communications Foundation, students can calculate their personal water footprint. Compare personal water footprints to the national average.

Students analyze the implications of the data we collected in order to infer the impacts of our use and care of water.

Construct an argument, in writing or as a presentation, supported by evidence, to address the question:

Why do we need to take care of our shared waterways in our watershed?

What actions can we take to make an impact ?

Compare water consumption (water use) and water access in the United States to other developed countries and developing countries (define developed and developing ) .

Is there a disparity between water consumption and access  in developed and developing countries?

This project can include a discussion and explanation about the UN Sustainable Development Goals that the UN developed to address the 21st century problems.