JoinScience 101: What Causes Water's Surface Tension?
The term “surface tension” is commonly used to explain phenomena like a paper clip resting on the surface of water or the “dome” of water that forms on a penny when water is carefully added to it drop-by-drop. You can also see surface tension in action as a water strider dents the surface of water but doesn’t break through. In this article a scientist explains why water has surface tension.