A world without permanent water on the surface?

I'm building a small, naturally inhabited world where usable water is scarce or difficult to access. Is it possible to have a planet with groundwater, ice caps, temporary rivers and lakes, seasonal rains and fog, but no permanent oceans? If so, where might clouds etc come from? Could there be evaporation from shallow, temporary or constantly moving water bodies? Or could significant amounts of moisture be released into the atmosphere directly from the ground, say in steam vents?

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A world without permanent water on the surface?

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