** An estimated 2 to 4 million people in the world die each year as a result of contaminated water.

** One billion people in the world do not have access to safe and affordable drinking water

** Accessible water that could save thousands of lives often is available, even in drought areas, but it is located 100 to 300 feet underground.

** Two-thirds of the world's population live in areas receiving only one-fourth of the world's annual rainfall.

** A human needs four to five gallons of water daily for drinking and other uses.

** The United Nations estimates 900 million people each year suffer from diarrhea and other diseases caused by contaminated water. The World Bank says bad water sickens 1 billion people annually.

** Buying clean water can be costly. Poor people in slums often pay five to 10 times more per liter of water than wealthy people living in the same city. In Port-au-Prince, Haiti, residents spent 20 percent of their income on water. In Nigeria, it's [sic] 18 percent of annual income.

** Two-thirds of the world is made up of water but less than 1 percent is drinkable.

[Sources: British Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, Global Water, Water Encyclopedia.com, Dow Chemical Co., Water Partners International; CFCA, Winter 2008]