ABSTRACT
About 70 per cent of the earth’s surface is covered with water, but most of that is ocean and too saline (containing dissolved salts) for many purposes. There is no universal shortage of water, just a shortage of water that can be easily and safely utilised by human beings to meet their own needs. The sources of water that are on land are generally suitable for human use and are precious in that they are essential to support the ecosystem and to supply our agriculture, industries and drinking water. This chapter is about protecting water quality to ensure that it is suitable for those purposes. The arrangements for water management in the UK are outlined in Box 5.1 in Appendix 4.
