“Water is the most critical resource issue of our lifetime and our children’s lifetime. The health of our waters is the principal measure of how we live on the land.”
– Luna Leopold, American hydrologist
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From August 24 to 28, the international community observes World Water Week. This year’s theme is “Water for Climate Action,” which covers the full water cycle from freshwater to oceans.
Despite progress over the last decade, billions of people around the world still lack access to essential water, sanitation, and hygiene services, putting them at risk of disease and deeper social exclusion.
A new report: Progress on Household Drinking Water and Sanitation 2000–2024: special focus on inequalities reveals that, while some progress has been made, major gaps persist. People living in low-income countries, fragile contexts, rural communities, children, and minority ethnic and indigenous groups face the greatest disparities.
Here are some key facts from the report:
* Despite gains since 2015, 1 in 4 – or 2.1 billion people globally – still lack access to safely managed drinking water, including 106 million who drink directly from untreated surface sources.
* 3.4 billion people still lack safely managed sanitation, including 354 million who practice open defecation.
* 1.7 billion people still lack basic hygiene services at home, including 611 million without access to any facilities.
* People in least developed countries are more than twice as likely as people in other countries to lack basic drinking water and sanitation services, and more than three times as likely to lack basic hygiene.
* In fragile contexts, safely managed drinking water coverage is 38 percentage points lower than in other countries, highlighting stark inequalities.
* While there have been improvements for people living in rural areas, they still lag behind. Safely managed drinking water coverage rose from 50% to 60% between 2015 and 2024, and basic hygiene coverage from 52% to 71%. In contrast, drinking water and hygiene coverage in urban areas has stagnated.
“Water, sanitation and hygiene are not privileges, they are basic human rights,” pointed out Dr. Ruediger Krech, Director of the Environment, Climate Change and Health at the World Health Organization.
The water crisis may still be a distant concern in certain regions of Asia, yet it is already a pressing issue in the Philippines, a nation with a population exceeding 100 million. Despite being an archipelago, the country is grappling with significant water shortages.
Davao City, known for its abundant freshwater resources, is not immune to this issue. A few years ago, a managing editor of a local newspaper voiced his frustration regarding the prolonged lack of water in his barangay for several hours.
A friend also recounted her experience, mentioning that the water flow in her area was so limited that it took her 30 minutes to fill a single pail. When she reached out to the water district to inquire about any ongoing repairs, she was told that there were none.
Approximately 75 kilometers from Davao City, in the municipality of Bansalan, Davao del Sur, the residents of barangay Poblacion Dos have been enduring severe challenges due to the absence of water supply from their faucets for the past week. This predicament has led to a lack of water for essential needs such as drinking, cooking, bathing, and laundry. Many residents have described their situation as a nightmare.
Even when water is available, a crucial question remains: is it safe to drink? Once the water coming out from the faucet is discolored, it’s not fit for drinking. A study by the Department of Science and Technology bared that some spring waters are not potable because they contain coliforms, Escherichia coli and other bacteria.
Detractors of mineral water say it is not safe for drinking because “it may block the vascular system of the body.” As for distilled water, it is also not good to drink because “it may cause cancer,” according to a mineral water manufacturer.
“The Philippines will likely experience severe water shortage by 2040 due to the combined impact of rapid population growth and climate change,” predicts the Washington, D.C.-based World Resources Institute (WRI).
The situation is nothing new. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the world was already facing a serious water crisis. All the signs suggest that it is getting worse and will continue to do so unless corrective action is soon taken.
“Today, we withdraw water far faster than it can be recharged – unsustainably mining what was once a renewable resource,” deplores Janet Abramovitz, a researcher at the Washington, D.C.-based Worldwatch Institute.
“Water, not oil, is the most precious fluid in our lives, the substance from which all life on the earth has sprung and continues to depend,” wrote Maryann Bird in a Time feature.
Water is even more expensive than gold. “Water is worth more than gold and necessary for survival above all other resources on earth,” pointed out a feature published in South Review.
If the world runs out of oil and other fossil fuels, there are always alternative energy sources. People can live without the precious gold. But without water, the world is outright doomed.
