Today is World Water Day. In our post last year, we mentioned the fact that nearly one billion people around the world didn’t have clean drinking water, and 2.6 billion still lack basic sanitation; today, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 40% of those without safe water and nearly 40% of the world’s population lives without access to adequate sanitation…

But we know many key water and sanitation solutions are cost-effective: every $1 invested in water and sanitation improvements returns on average $8 in increased economic productivity and averted healthcare costs. So let’s do something World Water Day!

A few words from the OneWeekForWater.org website:

World Water Day is March 22. Recognized by the United Nations and the global community, World Water Day reminds us that much of the world still faces a global water and sanitation crisis, and that it is our urgent obligation to act. This year, a coalition of diverse US-based groups is calling for increased commitments by the US government and private citizens to reduce poverty, disease and hunger by helping to improve sustainable access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation for many millions around the world…

On this day, we would like to mention the amazing work done by The Surfrider Foundation. It is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers in Malibu, California, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains over 50,000 members and 90 chapters worldwide. Please check them out.

On World Water Day 2010, Max Dana published on her blog an article about water scarcity: ‘Will the Sama Water Tank save the world?’. We still think it is worth reading, as a complement to this news about World Water Day.