Another common chemical added to water is fluoride. Fluoride helps teeth grow strong, and you can also find it in toothpaste. To get water into your home, communities use large pumps to push the water up a tall water tower, where the force of gravity can create water pressure. Water pressure is important for our faucets and showers to work. We also need water pressure for fire hydrants to give enough water to firefighters.
Most communities get their water from rivers and lakes.
Others get their water from large underground supplies called aquifers. It's important for communities to make sure that water is clean enough to use safely. Recent floods in North Dakota and Minnesota, USA have meant that residents must drink bottled water to avoid getting sick. Their clean water was ruined by flooding, and their treatment plants were also ruined. It won't take long for them to fix the problem, but it's a good reminder of how much we rely on clean water.