Valuing Safe Water on World Water Day and Every Day

Each year on the 22^nd day of March, the world community highlights a water theme to mark World Water Day. This year’s focus is on valuing water. Good quality and safely delivered drinking water, made possible by the time-tested technologies of filtration and chlorine disinfection, for example, is essential to the growth of healthy and prosperous communities. Universal access to safe drinking water is an integral element of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Sadly, according to a 2017 report, an estimated 2.2 billion people around the world lacked safely managed drinking water services. Through the hard work of the world community, that statistic could be vastly improved by better protecting natural water sources and installing adequate treatment infrastructure. It is difficult to assign a value to something so fundamental and life-giving as safe drinking water…until you try to imagine your life without it.