Fact Sheet on Water

• Seventy percent of the human body is water

• People need at least two liters of water daily to function and feel well.

• Seventy-five percent of the earth is covered in water. Since most of it is salt water, just one percent is potable.

• New Jersey residents use one billion gallons of water daily. Scientists predict that by the year 2040, usage will increase 80 percent to 1.8 billion gallons daily. Even if a drought had not occurred this winter, New Jersey would still face a water problem.
  

• Water can be easily contaminated. One drop of gasoline in 25 liters (about six gallons) makes the water toxic and undrinkable. One gram of lead dropped into 20,000 liters makes the water equally unpotable.

• Water is never lost. In what is known as the hydrological cycle, water falls to the earth in rain or hail or snow. It flows into the ground and into lakes and rivers. Even if it evaporates, it forms into clouds and returns again to earth.

• Water treatment is not new but has been used for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians poured water through sand to trap the impurities - a process still used today.

• NJIT researchers say drink tap, not bottled water. Not only does the former cost less but also its production is better regulated. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection regulate tap water. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates bottled water. Researchers say the latter has less stringent standards.

NJIT is a public, scientific and technological research university enrolling more than 8,800 students. The university offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees to students in 80 degree programs throughout its six colleges: Newark College of Engineering, New Jersey School of Architecture, College of Science and Liberal Arts, School of Management, Albert Dorman Honors College and College of Computing Sciences. The division of continuing professional education offers adults eLearning, off campus degrees and short courses. Expertise and research initiatives include architecture and building science, applied mathematics, biomedical engineering, environmental engineering and science, information technology, manufacturing, materials, microelectronics, multimedia, telecommunications, transportation and solar astrophysics. Yahoo! Internet Life magazine cites NJIT as a "perennially most wired" university.

Contact Information:

Sheryl Weinstein Robert Florida Public Relations  (973) 596-3433

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