The Great Artesian Basin is Australia's largest groundwater basin and is one of the largest underground freshwater resources in the world. The Basin spans almost 1.7 million square kilometres (more than one-fifth of the Australian continent) and has a storage capacity of 64,900 million megalitres.
In most parts of Australia, surface water stored in reservoirs is the main source for municipal water supply, making water supply vulnerable to droughts; only a much smaller share comes from groundwater.
Australia is also the driest continent inhabited by humans, with very limited freshwater sources. Despite the lack of freshwater, Australians use the most water per capita globally, using 100,000L of freshwater per person every year.
And, of the total freshwater, over 68 percent is locked up in ice and glaciers. Another 30 percent of freshwater is in the ground.
The quality of drinking water in Australia is generally high, with 93% of households having access to clean, safe drinking water.
Pureau is the only water that is 100% guaranteed to be free from chlorine, bacteria, fluoride, sodium and other impurities that are found in both tap and other bottled waters.
Nepal is a country located in the Himalayan region, known for its unique geography, rich culture, and diverse ecosystems. One of Nepal's most valuable natural resources is water. The country is considered to be the second richest in water resources due to its geographic location, topography and climate.
The Antarctic Ice Sheet contains 70% of Earth's freshwater and 90% of its ice.
In Australia, 70% of freshwater is used for agriculture; 16% for energy and industry; and 14% is used by the public for general activities – drinking, showering, flushing the loo, doing laundry and watering the garden. Running out of water, even temporarily, will slow or stop these activities.
Rainfall is variable and in recent times many parts of Australia have experienced prolonged periods of drought. Population growth also contributes to pressure on water supplies. Water storage in dams and aquifers (underground storage) is important to secure water supplies for human use.
For now, Australia may have sufficient freshwater to meet its needs but the unreliability of its rainfall, the uncertainty of climate change, and the difficulties of supplying fast-growing cities and isolated rural communities poses problems.
Australia imports most of its Packaged drinking water from India, Vietnam . The top 3 importers of Packaged drinking water are Vietnam with 507 shipments followed by India with 478 and United States at the 3rd spot with 257 shipments.
Small-volume water sources exploited by Aboriginal people include natural features such as rock holes, and living creatures such as frogs. Rock holes are hollows on hard layers of rock surfaces that don't allow the water to soak in (impermeable) so the water collects.
Can you drink tap water in Australia? The short answer to this question is yes. Tap water in Australia is considered safe to drink by health professionals.
The Antarctic ice sheet holds about 90 percent of the fresh water that exists on the Earth's surface. The ice sheet covers approximately 8.7 million square miles. The Greenland ice sheet also contains large volumes of fresh water.
Canada is richly endowed with water. Possessing one of the largest renewable supplies of freshwater in the world, it has access to upwards of 20% of the world's surface freshwater and 7% of the world's renewable water flow.
Two percent of the earth's water is stored as fresh water in glaciers, ice caps, and snowy mountain ranges. That leaves only one percent of the earth's water available to us for our daily water supply needs.
Scandinavia and Finland
If you put them all together, it's clear that this region of the world is where one can find perhaps the cleanest and safest water flowing from taps. Just for good measure, Finland further filters its naturally clean water multiple times before it reaches the tap.
Here is the full ranking of the richest countries in 2023, according to their per capita GDP. Luxembourg, one of the smallest countries in the EU has a population of 634,000 and is the richest country in this ranking with a per capita GDP of nearly $130,000.
Melbourne Water is proud to have taken out top honours at the Ixom Best Tasting Tap Water in Australia competition.
There is no doubt the quality of drinking water in Australia has improved significantly over the years. It should also be noted that tap water, like bottled water provides beneficial minerals such as calcium, magnesium and sodium. While tap water provides us with nutrients, it may also contain harmful substances.
In a study published by the World Bank in 2021, Norway was found to have the cleanest water in the world. The cleanliness of such water comes from a few factors: first, the amount of clean surface precipitation that reaches Norway each year keeps it clean.