World Water Day is an opportunity to learn more about water related issues and the importance of freshwater and the sustainable management of freshwater resources. Since March 22, 1993, the United Nations has declared this day as World Water Day. The goal of the United Nations is to ensure that the world’s population has access to clean, drinkable water. Recently, in the United States, nearly 2,000 water suppliers serving over 6+ million people in all 50 states found excessive and harmful amounts of lead.
2017’s World Water Day theme is “Why Wastewater?” which focuses on ways to reduce and reuse wastewater. Currently, over 80% of wastewater from our homes, cities, industry and agriculture flows back to nature. There are vast amounts of opportunities to use wastewater as a sustainable source of water, energy, nutrients and other recoverable materials. By improving the collection and treatment of wastewater the 1.8 billion people that only have access to drinking water contaminated with feces could prevent the 824,000 deaths each year from preventable diseases such as cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio.
Other than the use of drinking water, freshwater also impacts our economy. Half of the world’s workers are in water related sectors and more than $450 billion spent on foods, fiber, manufactured good and tourism all depend on watersheds. Large cities can improve water quality through upstream forest protection, reforestation and improved agricultural practices.
Remember: There is NO ALTERNATIVE to WATER!
To learn more about World Water Day and how you can help, please visit www.un.org.
