When you need water, it’s simple: just turn on the faucet.

But the water is not free. Your parents know that: they pay the bill!

Yet, there’s water everywhere: in the oceans, rivers, lakes, and when it rains. There’s so much water, we call the Earth the “blue planet”!

So if there’s so much water, why do we have to pay to use it?

Because water that is found in nature is not necessarily pure. It may contain dirt, algae or microbes.

We need to filter and disinfect it to make it potable, meaning water that is safe to drink.

We also need to store it in water towers and storage tanks…

… And channel it via underground pipes to houses and buildings.

All that costs money; about half the water bill.

The other half, is to pay the treatment of wastewater: water from the washing machine, the shower… or when you flush the toilet!

Most wastewater is cleaned in treatment plants, then released into rivers.

In a great number of countries, this treatment of wastewater is closely checked to avoid pollution.

Because on Earth, there’s lots of saltwater and very little freshwater and that’s what we need. So we must take care of it!