World Water Day 2023 is more than just another awareness-raising event. It’s a call to action to accelerate change and solve the water and sanitation crisis affecting billions of people worldwide.
Dysfunction in the water cycle is impeding progress on major global issues, from health to hunger, gender equality to jobs, education to industry, and disasters to peace. In 2015, the world committed to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 as part of the 2030 Agenda – the promise that everyone would have safely managed water and sanitation by 2030.
However, we are currently seriously off-track to achieving this goal. As a result, billions of people, schools, businesses, healthcare centers, farms, and factories, are being held back because their human rights to water and sanitation have not yet been fulfilled.
BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE
The 2023 World Water Day Campaign, Be the Change, encourages people to act in their own lives to change how they use, consume, and manage water. This is an opportunity to recommit to achieving SDG 6 and take concrete action to solve the water and sanitation crisis. It’s time for governments, businesses, organizations, and individuals to work together to ensure everyone has access to clean, safe, affordable water and sanitation.
At Eddy Solutions, our water protection service plays a critical role in helping to solve the water crisis. By identifying water escape and inefficiencies in real-time, we prevent water waste and help ensure that every drop of water is used efficiently.
But we cannot do it alone. We need everyone to take action. By conserving water daily, advocating for policies that support water and sanitation access, or investing in innovative solutions that address the water crisis. Here are a few simple #WaterActions from the United Nations Lazy Person’s Guide to Saving Water to help protect water:
THINGS YOU CAN DO FROM YOUR COUCH
– Turn off sleeping tech. Currently, 90% of power generation is water intensive. Turning off our devices when not using them means less energy needs to be produced.
– Build pressure. Write to elected representatives about budgets for improving water at home and abroad.
– Shop sustainably. A typical pair of jeans takes 10,000 litres of water to produce, equal to what a person drinks in 10 years.
THINGS YOU CAN DO FROM HOME
– Take five-minute showers. With 44% of household wastewater not being safely treated, taking shorter showers is a great way to save this precious resource.
– Flush safe. Fix leaking water and waste pipes, empty full septic tanks, and report sludge dumping.
– Don’t throw away edible food. An estimated 1/3 of all food produced globally is lost or goes to waste. In addition, reducing food wastage reduces agriculture demand, which is one of the biggest water consumers. So, reduce food waste and save water.
THINGS YOU CAN DO IN YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD
– Take part in clean-ups of your local rivers, lakes, wetlands, or beaches.
– Protect nature. Plant a tree or create a rain garden – use natural solutions to reduce the risk of flooding and store water.
– Be curious. Find out where your water comes from and how it is shared. Visit a treatment plant to see how local waste is managed.
THINGS YOU CAN DO AT WORK
– Choose a plant-based meal. For example, it typically takes between 3,000 – 5,000 litres of water to produce 1 kg of rice, 2,000 litres for 1kg of soya, 900 litres for 1kg of wheat and 500 litres for 1kg of potatoes.
– Get the office involved. Organize a Water Event (see ideas from the UN’S Be the Change toolkit). Share facts and stories on SDG 6 in your internal newsletter and participate in our suggested #WaterActions as a group.
World Water Day 2023 is a call to action to accelerate change and solve the water and sanitation crisis. Let’s work together to ensure everyone has access to this essential resource and no one is left behind.
