The Great Freshwater Journey: From Raindrops and Rivers to Lakes, Dams Drinking Water: 3

Where does the water in your glass come from-and where will it go after it disappears down the drain? Freshwater is always travelling. It rises invisibly into the atmosphere, gathers inside clouds, falls as rain and snow, sinks through soil and flows through streams, rivers, wetlands and lakes. Some remains hidden underground for years or even centuries. Some is stored behind dams before entering treatment plants, reservoirs and the vast networks of pipes beneath our towns and cities. In The Great Freshwater Journey, readers will follow water from the sky to the land, deep below the ground and all the way to the household tap. Along the way, they will discover how rivers shape landscapes, why lakes form, how aquifers store water, what happens inside a drinking-water treatment plant and where wastewater goes after it enters a sewer. The journey also reveals why a planet covered in water can still face shortages. Floods, droughts, pollution, leaking pipes, climate change and unequal access all influence whether communities have enough safe water. Dams, desalination, wastewater reuse and conservation can help-but every solution has benefits, costs and limits. Serious, vivid and scientifically accurate, this book transforms an everyday glass of water into an extraordinary journey through weather, geology, engineering, public health and the natural world.