World Water Day
Next: March 22, 2027
Every drop has somewhere to be.
The story
Where it comes from
World Water Day was first proposed in Agenda 21, the action plan agreed at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. On 22 December that year the UN General Assembly declared 22 March of each year the World Day for Water, to be observed from 1993. It is one of the UN's oldest environmental days, a reminder that every home, farm, factory and city depends on a supply of fresh, clean water that is easy to take for granted.
How it's celebrated
UN-Water, which coordinates the UN's work on water and sanitation, chooses a theme and runs the global campaign, and a new UN World Water Development Report is released on or near the day. Schools, cities and water utilities hold talks, clean-ups, exhibitions and plant tours. At home it is a day to fix a dripping tap and remember that clean water reaches some people only after a long walk.
Did you know
- According to WHO and UNICEF, 1.8 billion people still have no drinking water at home, and in two out of three such households women are mainly responsible for fetching it.
- In 2003 Singapore launched NEWater, ultra-clean reclaimed water that became the third of its 'Four National Taps', alongside local catchments, imported water and desalination.
- NEWater mostly supplies industries that need ultra-pure water, such as chip-making plants, and in dry months it is also used to top up the reservoirs.
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