Though water does not seem all that exciting, it is very valuable. The Ancient Greek pecople believed all the fresh water on the Earth came from a river calld Okeanos. They imagined that clouds collected rain from its magical waters (海域). The reason they believed in this is because water is important for humans. Doctors say that without water we would die in about one week.
There are two places that our fresh water comes from. The first is surface water, which includes all the water in lakes or rivers. The second is groundwater, which refers to all the water that comes from under the ground.
Water must be treated before it can come out of the tap (水龙头). First, anything harmful in the water must be removed. Then a cleaning agent (净化剂) is added. This will destroy any remaining germs (细菌).
There have been reports of factories in China letting waste waterleak intothe ground. Industrial waste water is a big problem as it can pollute our drinking water. Even if the water is treated, it is unfit for drinking. The Ministry of Environmental Protection has improved the water in China since 2004. In 2011,76 percent of water was safe for dinking. But treated water should always be boiled before drinking.
Some countries have more fresh water resources (资源) and this means that it is easier for them to treat their water.
A report from a British Consulting Firm called Maplecroft found that Iceland has the best fresh water supply in the world. That is because most of the tap water in Iceland comes from pure mountain springs. No treatment of any kind is required before Icelandic people drink their delicious water.
