When water is a largely available resource that covers much of the Earth's surface, many tend to forget that clean, safe drinking water is an overlooked struggle for millions of people across the world. From polluted rivers, outdated plumbing, and contaminated water supplies, water is not only a global issue, but a local one. This issue is often seen in low-income neighborhoods and communities, making it a public health and social justice issue. Clean, safe water is a right many don't have, but through youth advocacy, student-led organizations, and community outreach, action can be taken to ensure quality water.
Issue: Why Clean Water Matters. Clean water is important for health, communities, and the economy. According to healingwaters.org, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that water is considered "the most important resource for sustaining ecosystems, which provide life-supporting services for people, animals, and plants." Clear water is vital to communities. They need water that is safe for household cooking, washing, and sanitation. With clean water, communities can thrive in terms of sustainable development, socioeconomic development, energy and food production, and healthy ecosystems. A significant connection can be made between unsafe water and poverty, as water is a base necessity that hinders room for development. Without a good source of sanitary water, crops for consumption can't be grown. Healing Waters International also states that this is the reality for 2.2 billion individuals who do not have access to safe water. This is causing 9.2 billion percent of the global population to live in poverty. Every year, 3.575 million people die of disease due to unsafe water. Change is needed in order to improve human health, reduce poverty, restore human rights, develop communities and ecosystems, and create growing industries.
Youth-Led Movements: Youth-led movements are a great way to take a step towards a world where sanitary water is more accessible. Thirst Project is one of the world's largest youth-led movements that is dedicated to ending the global water crisis. The non-profit organization focuses on building freshwater wells in developing communities that need clean drinking water. Thirst Project has successfully funded over 3,000 water projects, bringing safe drinking water to hundreds and thousands of individuals. Their work has made a large impact in Eswatini, and they are looking to expand their goal to a nationwide level. The core of this movement is student powered, where high school and college students organize fundraising campaigns, spread awareness in schools, communities, and social media.
Taking Action Locally: Change doesn't have to mean starting at large-scale and high impact. Meaningful change can begin small, within our communities, even our own homes. By building on smaller, existing ideas, students can create a valued space for further development and outreach. There are already many effective ways for safeguarding water quality close to home. This can start with community science, also known as citizen science. It is a scientific approach where members can actively participate and collaborate in valuable research, often led by professionals. With the water crisis, many students are now gathering water samples from nearby rivers, ponds, and other water sources, to check for contaminants. This information can reach environmental organizations, which can encourage policy makers to advocate for stronger water protective measures. The United States EPA provides a list of easy things that can be done to protect drinking water sources. For example, use and dispose of harmful materials properly, join a water source collaborative community, participate in a beach, stream, or wetland cleanup, organize a storm drain stenciling project, and more.
Ensuring Water Justice: Water equity means guaranteeing that all communities, despite ethnicity, location, or economic status, receive equal protection against unsanitary water hazards; hazards that are detrimental to millions of lifestyles. Environmental discrimination is often overlooked by governments. But, when people come together to advocate for better policies, and bring attention to affected communities, progress can grow significantly. According to the United Nations, "Bangladesh has integrated development targets to achieve the SDG6 in the 7th 5-year plan to ensure safe drinking water made available for all rural and urban population and proportion of urban population with access to sanitary latrines to be increased to 100 percent and 90 percent for rural population." This is huge for a South Asian country, considering that in South Asia, approximately 134 million do not have access to safe drinking water.
Conclusion: Access to clean water is an environmental concern, as well as an issue of health, equity, and fundamental human rights. Despite the many challenges that make it seem like change is impossible, young individuals across the world are making change happen through education, local initiatives, and advocacy. By taking action and getting involved, many prove that youth have the power to make a difference. Students can significantly contribute to the preservation of water quality, and ensure environmental justice.