Earth's salt, fresh, and usable water

About 97% of Earth’s water is saline. Roughly 2.5% is freshwater; of that, about 68–69% is locked in glaciers, ice sheets, and permanent snow, while most of the remainder is underground. Lakes and rivers hold only a tiny fraction of all water. So the shorthand “97% salty, 2% ice, 1% drinkable” is misleading: the remainder is not all accessible or safe to drink. [1–3]