About 70% of the Earth is covered with water, and 96.5% of that is part of the salty oceans. Only a small portion of the Earth’s water is freshwater. 1.7% is below ground and 1.8% is above ground in ice caps, glaciers and permanent snow. with only .06% usable above ground in lakes rivers and swamps. USGS

Only 3% of water on the surface is fresh; the remaining 97% resides in the ocean. Of freshwater, 69% resides in glaciers, 30% underground, and less than 1% is located in lakes, rivers, and swamps.