Earth's water resources. Illustration of the percentages of Earth's water resources. The Earth is at left, with three water drops representing its water. The first drop show 97.5 percent of this is salt water (represented by an ocean wave) and 2.5 percent is fresh water (top part of water drop). The centre water drop shows 69 percent (bottom section) of the fresh water is frozen in glaciers and ice caps, and 30 percent (top section) is groundwater and surface water. The third water drop (far right) compares groundwater and surface water, with only 1 percent (top part of the water drop) accessible in surface features such as lakes and rivers.