This reserve is shrinking because of pollution. Some 1.2 billion people alive today lack ready access to clean water. Earth's human population is expected to double in the next century.
Water is the one of world's most precious resources.
Humans cannot survive much beyond three days without it. Israel imports 87 percent of its water and Jordan imports 91 percent. Changing weather patterns have made drought commonplace in Britain. The BBC reports that groundwater in the Thames Valley has fallen to the lowest levels in a century. Meanwhile, domestic water consumption has doubled over the last 30 years.