It is being held captive in containers. There are around 150,000 to 200,000 grocery stores in the United States. Think about how much water it takes to fill up the shelves in your local store with products that contain water. People stock up on cases of water and their fridges are also filled with goods that require water. Our problem begins with the fact that too many people throw liquids into the receptacle that are sealed in plastic containers that last indefinitely. This entombs our water and it never returns to the water table like it's intended to. It isn't just grocery stores retaining massive amounts of water. Gas stations carry drinks and bars are packed with beer. Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes have a finite amount of water and unfortunately human demand is so high that is it is over exceeding supply. It will only get worse. On the brighter side we are still discovering vast amounts of water. [link to news.mongabay.com]