Eli5 why do we run out of water?

Question

I know we need to conserve water and such but why? Doesn’t it eventually flow back into the ground or evaporated and rained back down regardless of how it’s consumed, so it’s a cycle? Do we lose a bit per cycle?

In: 39

Answer 1

This isn’t generally true. In some cases cities have grown too big for the amount of drinkable water in their vicinity. But in most places this is a non-issue.

I think it’s perceived as a general issue because some really big American cities are built in very dry places.