The very existence of Planet Earth depends on water. No living being can survive without water, so it is not wrong to say that this precious liquid given to us by Mother Nature is our lifeblood. We know that people can live without food for at least a few days but not without drinking water, even for a day.

Let's check out some important facts about water.

* Pure water is generally considered to be tasteless, odourless and colourless.

* Water is required for the supply of nutrients and oxygen to all the cells of the body. It also plays an important role in digestion and detoxifying the body, keeping it cool.* Almost 70 per cent of the body of an adult comprises of water and this water is the main element which brings freshness and activeness to one's life.

* The human brain is made up of approximately 85 per cent water.

* Of all the animals on this planet, the rat is the one who can live without water for a long period of time.

* Humans need five to 13 gallons of clean water a day for basic needs.

* Tap water may consist of harmful pollutants and toxins as the water is supplied through lead pipes which are sometimes over 100 years old. It is important for us to drink pure and clean water without any impurities in it. So, always boil the water before drinking it.

* There is only 2.5 per cent of fresh water available for consumption and, three-quarters of this is locked up in glaciers and permanent snow cover. Only 0.3 per cent of the water is surface water, found in rivers and lakes. The rest is buried deep in the ground.

* About 60 per cent of the world's fresh water comes from rivers shared by at least two countries.

* In many regions of the world, fresh water, both ground water and surface water, is being used faster than it can be replaced. West Asia faces the greatest threat. Over 90 per cent of the region's population is experiencing severe water stress.

*Water stress is defined as areas where water consumption is more than 10 per cent of renewable freshwater resources.

* Water stress is not confined to the developing world.

In the United States, 400 million cubic meters (520 million cubic yards) of ground water is being removed from aquifers annually in Arizona; about double the amount being replaced by recharge from rainfall. In Spain, more than half of the nearly 100 aquifers are over-exploited.

* Already about one-third of the world's population lives in countries suffering from moderate-to-high water stress, according to the most recent Global Environment Outlook (GEO-3) report.

* The GEO-3 scientists project that more than half the people in the world could be living in severely water-stressed areas by 2032.

* If you shorten your showers by just a single minute, you can save almost 700 gallons of water.

* In the United States, 346,000 million gallons of freshwater are used every day.

* Water managers in 36 States expect shortages by 2013.