WATER FACTS

Water is the only substance found on earth naturally in three forms – solid, liquid and gas.

About 70% of the earth is covered in water.

Once evaporated, a water molecule spends about 10 days in the air.

Many of the lakes on the Canadian Shield, including those of the Great Lakes, were created by glacial erosion.

Freshwater lakes and rivers, ice and snow, and underground aquifers hold only 2.5% of the world's water. By comparison, saltwater oceans and seas contain 97.5% of the world's water supply.

68.9% of the earth's fresh water exists in the form of glaciers and permanent snow cover.

Of the total world's freshwater supply, 30.8% is groundwater, including soil moisture, swamp water and permafrost.

Annually, Canada's rivers discharge 7% of the world's renewable water supply – 105 000 cubic meters per second.

Almost 9%, or 891 163 square kilometers, of Canada's total area is covered by fresh water.

Glacier ice over 100 000 years old is found at the base of many Canadian Arctic ice caps.

In Canada, an estimated area of 200 000 square kilometers, or about 2% of the country's area is covered by glaciers and ice fields.

Canada has about 25% of the world's wetlands – the largest wetland area in the world.

Wetlands totaling an area of more than 1.2 million square kilometers cover about 14% of the land area of Canada.

Fifty percent of the world's wetlands have been lost since 1900.

Almost two billion people were affected by natural disasters in the last decade of the 20th century, 86% of them by floods and droughts.

Henderson Lake, British Columbia, has the greatest average annual precipitation in Canada – 6,655 millimeters. In contrast, Eureka, in Nunavut, has the least average annual precipitation – 64 millimeters.

The longest Canadian river is the Mackenzie River (Northwest Territories-Alberta-British Columbia) at 4,241 kilometers.

The largest lake entirely in Canada is Great Bear Lake in the N.W.T. at 31,328 square kilometers.

The deepest lake is Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories, 614 meters deep.

In Canada, the individual river system with the largest drainage area is the Mackenzie River, with 1,805,200 square kilometers.

The world's largest inland freshwater delta is formed where the Peace and Athabasca rivers flow into Lake Athabasca.

Canada's longest inland waterway stretches 3 700 kilometers from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Lake Superior.

Canada has 563 lakes having an area greater than 100 square kilometers.

The Great Lakes are the largest system of fresh, surface water on earth, containing roughly 18% of the world supply.

The Great Lakes Basin covers an area of 750,000 square kilometers.

The Great Lakes provide drinking water to 8.5 million Canadians.

The Great Lakes Basin is home to 90% of Ontario's population and 40% of Canada's economic activity.

Each year, the Great Lakes contribute $180 billion to Canada-U.S. trade.

The Great Lakes sustain a $100 million commercial fishing industry.

The Great Lakes sustain a $350 million recreational fishing industry.

Almost 60% of the world's fresh water falls within a transboundary basin; where at least one of the tributaries crosses a political boundary.

Forty percent of Canada's boundary with the United States is composed of water.

Worldwide, one billion people lack access to safe drinking water, 2.4 billion to adequate sanitation.

One drop of oil can render up to 25 litres of water unfit for drinking.

Health problems related to water pollution in general are estimated to cost Canadians $300 million per year.

Plasma, which constitutes 55% of our blood volume, is 90% water.

You can survive about a month without food, but only 5 to 7 days without water.

Approximately 300 litres of water is required to produce 1 kilogram of paper.

It takes about 215,000 litres of water to produce one metric ton of steel.

Today, around 3 800 cubic kilometers of fresh water is withdrawn annually from the world's lakes, rivers and aquifers. This is twice the volume extracted 50 years ago.

On average, 13% of municipal piped water is lost in pipeline leaks – up to 30% in some communities.

Residential indoor water use in Canada: toilet – 30%; bathing and showering – 35%; laundry – 20%; kitchen and drinking – 10%; cleaning – 5%

A 5-minute shower with a standard shower head uses 100 litres of water.

A 5-minute shower with a low-flow shower head uses less than 50 litres of water.

A single lawn sprinkler spraying 19 litres per minute uses more water in just one hour than a combination of ten toilet flushes, two 5-minute showers, two dishwasher loads, and a full load of clothes.

Approximately 1,000 kilograms of water is required to grow 1 kilogram of potatoes.

Water power meets about 62% of Canada's electrical needs.

Canada is the largest producer of hydroelectricity, followed by the United States and Brazil.

Quebec has 333 large dams, more than any other province in Canada.