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Accessing fresh water
Different parts of the world access fresh water in different ways

Canada
Canadians are very fortunate when it comes to accessing clean fresh water. Canada has approximately 7% of the world’s renewable fresh water. Canadians access their water from ground water, lakes and streams. The water is processed through a water treatment plant to clean and purify. More than half of Canada’s water drains into the Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean. This is not convenient as 85% of Canada’s population lives along the southern border, not near this free flowing northern draining water. Water in Canada may be abundant, but it is stressed and heavily used.

United States of America
Many areas of the United States are nearing the limits on their water supplies. The culture of the United States encourages extensive water usage such as filling swimming pools, keeping the turf on lawns green, showering, drinking and cooking. The United States uses an excessive amount of water when compared to developing countries. For example, the average American’s daily shower uses more water than a person in a developing country would use for an entire day. Las Vegas is a particularly interesting city as it uses an extreme amount of water to support all of it’s inhabitants, spectacular lush greenery and golf courses, as well as huge fountains and swimming pools. Las Vegas gets 90% of its water from Lake Mead, which is now at a record all time low. The United States, especially cities like Las Vegas that are dependent on lakes and rivers that are loosing water supply are concentrating efforts to find other ways of retrieving water.

Developing Counties
Majority of people living in developing countries do not have access to clean water, in fact 780 million people lack access to clean water. Half of the population of the developing world suffers from at least one disease caused by insufficient water supply and sanitation.