Final answer:
Less than 1 percent of Earth's freshwater is easily accessible surface water, including lakes and rivers, which explains why access to drinking water is a significant issue globally despite the abundance of water on the planet.
Step-by-step explanation:
Only 2.5 percent of Earth’s water is freshwater, and the portion that is considered ‘easily accessible surface freshwater’ is even smaller. Specifically, less than 1 percent of all freshwater is accessible as surface water, which includes resources like lakes and rivers.
Lakes constitute about 0.86 percent of the available freshwater, and rivers make up roughly 0.02 percent. These sources are crucial for meeting the needs of life on Earth, including drinking water, agriculture, and industrial processes. Despite the fact that about 71% of our planet is covered by water, the vast majority is seawater, which is unsuitable for many of these uses without desalination.
The small percentage of accessible freshwater explains why access to drinking water is a critical issue for many communities worldwide. While freshwater exists in large quantities locked up in ice caps or underground aquifers, these sources are not easily tapped for human use. Factors such as the distribution of precipitation, climate, and geographical location impact the availability of fresh water for consumption and other necessities.