It may seem hard to swallow, but that tall glass of ice water you had with dinner last night also may have helped refresh a thirsty brontosaurus eons ago

Contrary to popular belief, water is not a renewable resource. It is finite. The water you use today is literally the same water that existed on the planet billions of years ago. Nature recycles water. It doesn't make new. Also, as you no doubt learned in school, over two-thirds of the earth's surface is covered by water, But did you know that only about 2.8 percent of it is fresh water? And, more critically, did you know that only about 0.3 percent of the earth's total water supply is usable by humans?

In the last decade of the 20th century alone, the earth's population increased by more than one billion people. At present rates, over the next 50 to 90 years the worlds population will more than double. The demand on water supplies is growing expedientially. Clearly, understanding and using scarce Idaho water resources wisely is vital. Our very survival depends on it.

Demands on water Resources Continue to Increase

Count the ways you and your family use water, Drinking, Cooking, Bathing, Doing laundry, Housecleaning, Watering the lawn, Washing the car, Giving he dog a bath. In industrialized countries, the average family of four consumes 250 gallons of water each day.

But that's only a small part of the water usage picture. So many of the things that we take for granted, things that make our lives easier, also depend on water: vast quantities of water.