About 2.5% of water on Earth is freshwater. More than 68% of that is frozen in icecaps and glaciers, and 30% is groundwater [1]. Easily accessible liquid freshwater (e.g. from lakes or rivers) is way less than a hundreth of a percent of all water on Earth, and even that's concentrated mostly around a few very large lakes: Lake Baikal alone is 20% of that, North America's Great Lakes are another 20%.
Historically, humans settled near freshwater, and built civilizations. On every continent, metropolitan civilizations built aqueducts to carry clean water in from further away. Temporary water shortages (e.g. drought) were mostly weathered in-place, long-term shortages were often dealt with by migration, potentially including warfare.
The core problem is that people should be living near easily accessible freshwater, and if they aren't, it's either due to a historical grievance, poor planning, or (natural or anthropogenic) climate change.
Historically, humans settled near freshwater, and built civilizations. On every continent, metropolitan civilizations built aqueducts to carry clean water in from further away. Temporary water shortages (e.g. drought) were mostly weathered in-place, long-term shortages were often dealt with by migration, potentially including warfare.
The core problem is that people should be living near easily accessible freshwater, and if they aren't, it's either due to a historical grievance, poor planning, or (natural or anthropogenic) climate change.
[1] https://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthwherewater.html