Water is indispensable; an irreplaceable prerequisite for life. For
the last ten thousand years, this finite renewable resource has fueled
the agricultural growth that gave rise to civilization. For over two
hundred years water has powered industrialization as a raw resource
providing hydroelectric power. Historically and currently many factors
contribute to the pressures placed on hydrologic systems and related
ecosystems. For the most part, these pressures are functions of growing
populations, increasing demands of food production, industrial and domestic
sectors, rising consumption and standards of living.
Most of the world's water is saline or trapped in ice sheets at the
poles. Only about 1% of the world's water is available as liquid fresh
water and of that approximately 98% percent is ground water, which can
be difficult to reach and costly to pump. Water is not equally distributed
and equally accessible. Today approximately 1.2 billion people do not
have access to clean safe drinking water and an estimated 2.5 billion
do not have proper toilets or sewage systems. As a result, more than
5 million people die every year to water-related causes.
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for Computational Science & Engineering (NACSE) at Oregon State
University. Software and web technology developed at NACSE.
