Water is one of the most important commodities that supports life on earth but very few understand how hard it is to get clean, potable freshwater. Water, in all its forms, covers three quarters of the Earth's surface. The water levels on Earth remain relatively the same each year. Every day, water goes through a cycle that sees it flow from land, to the seas and then evaporates into the atmosphere through the processes of evaporation and precipitation.
Related Blog: Federal Regulations for Water Treatment Plants and How Membranes Help Meet Them
How Much of Earth's Water is Fresh?
About 98% of all water on Earth is in the seas. Fresh water makes up under 3% of all water on earth, and nearly 65% of this drinkable water is tied up in glaciers. Rivers, streams, lakes, and dams that hold freshwater contain 1% of potable water while groundwater accounts for 0.3%.
Potable water is essential for all life forms to thrive. Every life form is made up of more than 60% water. The feasibility of life is determined mainly by the ability of every living organism to access fresh water, which is not equally distributed on Earth.
How Does Climate Change Impact Drinkable Water?
Although the levels of clean, potable water do not vary significantly year after year, climate change is currently changing the rules about how much potable water we'll have access to. Climate researchers have foreseen more floods and droughts and have warned of changing rainfall patterns, and water related calamities will become less predictable and more severe.
As the constraints of delivering fresh potable water where it is needed becomes more clear, governments, farmers, communities and associations such as Southeast Desalting Association (SEDA) are coming up with ways to purify and recycle water.
Creating More Potable Water
The benefits of creating potable water through reverse osmosis and other membrane processes is another development in water management and is more about creativity, and advanced scientific ideas than it is about pipelines, pumps, and dams.
Using membrane water treatment technology to make potable water means that we can still have a future in which all water needs are met, ecosystems are kept healthy and all living organisms stay healthy, even with climate changes. Please contact Harn R/O Systems to learn more about how membrane technology can help us meet our ever-growing water needs. 
