E-Mail IMAGE: Image of the Bull Run River that feeds the Occoquan Reservoir, an important source of water supply to Fairfax Water, a water utility serving about 2 million people in Northern... view more Credit: Virginia Tech Water touches virtually every aspect of human society, and all life on earth requires it. Yet, fresh, clean water is becoming increasingly scarce -- one in eight people on the planet lack access to clean water. Drivers of freshwater salt pollution such as de-icers on roads and parking lots, water softeners, and wastewater and industrial discharges further threaten freshwater ecosystem health and human water security.