Only three per cent of the earth’s water is fresh water; and only one per cent of this can be used for life, people included.
While the amount of water cycling on earth remains the same, the availability of this water – for humans – depends on where it is and how we use it. Water cycling through land-based soil and plant systems returns to the land via the atmosphere and rainfall within a few months. Whereas water flushed down the drain and out to sea takes hundreds of years to cycle through the ocean to the atmosphere and fall again as rain!
Human systems generally spoil water quality, then flush it from land to sea quickly. A better solution would be to re-use ‘waste’ water, locally. Imagine a landscape of abundant, biodiverse and beautiful gardens that capture and store greywater, break down pollutants, absorb nutrients, replenish groundwater and re-humidify the atmosphere, supporting regional rainfall patterns and water cycles.