Editing Water (section)

==What role does water play in daily human life?==
Water is essential for humans. Since the human body is about 65% water, people need to drink about 2 liters per day. Without water, a person can survive only about four days.

About 97% of Earth’s water is salty. Less than 2% is frozen in glaciers and ice caps. Only about 0.5% is fresh or brackish water.

Because the total amount of water on Earth stays the same, it is continuously reused through the [[water cycle]].

People use water daily for flushing toilets, [[shower|showering]], brushing teeth, washing hands, and cooking. In the Netherlands, the average person uses about 112 liters per day.

Agriculture also uses large amounts of fresh water—about 125 billion liters per year.

Clean fresh water is needed every day. According to [[Rijkswaterstaat]] (2016), clean water is healthy, suitable for drinking, and rich in plants and animals.

Sewage systems began in the late Middle Ages, helping remove polluted water. Today, pollution from factories, ocean waste, and ecological imbalance still threatens water quality.

In the 19th century, the Netherlands began building water basins and pipelines. Dune sand helped filter the water.

[[Rijkswaterstaat]] manages major waters, dikes, bridges, and locks. [[Water board|Water boards]] manage regional waterways.