With the constant talk of climate change in the media, one environmental issue that often goes overlooked in favor of issues like greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation: water pollution. Water quality is directly related to the health of a given population, and clean drinking water and water bodies are a fundamentally important necessity for the survival and economic well-being of every community.

Water Pollution and Disease

The World Health Organization reports that water contamination often leads to outbreaks of cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio. They estimate that nearly one million people die each year as a result of diarrhea from unclean drinking water. The World Counts estimates around three million people have died in 2023 alone from unclean drinking water. 

Water can be polluted with disease due to its source, where germs from decayed biomatter or chemicals from agricultural practices can leak into bodies of water, during water transport or through degraded piping systems. In addition to contaminated runoff from agricultural practices, decaying animals, and cracked and corroded piping, water can also be polluted due to sewage mismanagement.

Areas with Polluted Water

Much of the global south has limited access to clean drinking water, with many of those areas located in Africa. Access to clean drinking water is often a problem in underdeveloped areas, where communities are isolated and uneducated on the topic of water management. Niger, Papua New Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Eritrea, and Somalia are among the countries with the least amount of access to clean drinking water in the world. In Niger, water shortages often result due to arid conditions and frequent droughts.

Water Pollution and Economic Degradation

Water pollution can also cause economic degradation in several ways. In the food sector, water pollution, such as the release of chemicals into large bodies of water, can harm the local fishing industry by depleting the oxygen in water that fish need to survive. Heavy metals impair the ability of fish to find food, and pesticides can poison them, leading to significant reductions in fish populations. 

In addition, water pollution can devalue property. This results in homeowners losing equity, and governments lacking the money from property taxes that they need to function. Water pollution can also cause a decrease in tourism, which is a major industry in many countries and damages their overall economy.

Given the primary importance of clean water to both public health and a functioning economy, efforts to combat water pollution are essential. This includes investing in water infrastructure — and advancing environmental protection laws and enforcement — to ensure all communities have access to clean drinking water and unpolluted waterways and reservoirs for both current and future generations.