Humans have long recognized that water is vital to all life forms. Undeniably, ancient civilizations flourished or disappeared depending on their access to clean water. Today, people in developed countries consider water as an unlimited resource because most citizens in such countries have relatively easy access to inexpensive potable water. However, the lack of water is being felt even in the U.S., as the scarcity of water in some states, especially in the southeast, is becoming the subject of regional political conflicts. In reality, there is a huge public misperception regarding water availability and its management. Potable water is not abundant even though water occupies more than two-thirds of the Earth. Liquid freshwater, which is used as the primary supply of drinking water, constitutes a very small fraction of the water on the planet. Due to issues like climate change, poorly managed water usage, agricultural irrigation practices, and population growth, the sustainability of water resources has now become an important issue globally. The expected increase in the total production of human and animals feces (due to population growth and meat consumption), is bound to have a detrimental effect on microbial water quality in both coastal and inland waters of developed countries. In developing countries the future is grimmer, because of lack of economical resources and appropriate sanitary conditions. Better management practices, remediation strategies, and overall awareness of the global issues associated with fecal pollution are needed in order to improve the chances of sustainable water resources for future generations in all countries.