Monday was World Water Day, the theme of which was valuing water.

The UN Secretary-General’s Message On World Water Day 

This year’s World Water Day, with the theme “Valuing water”, asks: What does water mean to me?

The value of water is profound and complex.  There is no aspect of sustainable development that does not fundamentally rely upon it.

For me, water means protection.  A well-managed water cycle – encompassing drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, wastewater, transboundary governance, the environment and more – means a defence against ill-health and indignity and a response to challenges from a changing climate and increasing global demand.

This World Water Day, we want to record and understand as many views as possible, so decision-makers are better informed and equipped to safeguard this human right for every person and every purpose.

Today, we are not on track to ensure everyone has access to water and sanitation by 2030, as set out in Sustainable Development Goal 6.  While advances being made, current progress needs to quadruple to achieve universal access.

Chronic under-investment in water and sanitation disadvantages and harms vast numbers of people.  This is unacceptable.

I am encouraged by the joint statement signed by some 160 countries during the UN High-Level meeting on water on 18 March.  This shows a strong commitment to advancing all water-related aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals.

On this World Water Day, let us commit to intensifying efforts to truly valuing water so all may have equitable access to this most precious resource.

The UN World Water Development Report 2021

The current status of water resources highlights the need for improved water resources management. Recognizing, measuring and expressing water’s worth, and incorporating it into decision-making, are fundamental to achieving sustainable and equitable water resources management and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Those who control how water is valued control how it is used. Values are a central aspect of power and equity in water resources governance. The failure to fully value water in all its different uses is considered a root cause, or a symptom, of the political neglect of water and its mismanagement. All too often, the value of water, or its full suite of multiple values, is not prominent in decision-making at all.

Whilst the term ‘value’ and the process of ‘valuation’ are well defined, there are several different views and perspectives of what ‘value’ specifically means to various user groups and stakeholders. There are also different methods for calculating value and different metrics to express it.

Differences in the way water is valued occur not only between stakeholder groups but are widespread within them. These divergent perspectives on water value and the best ways to calculate and express it, coupled with limited knowledge of the actual resource, present a challenging landscape for rapid improvements in valuing water. It is, for example, futile to attempt to quantitatively compare the value of water for domestic use, the human right to water, customary or religious beliefs, and the value of maintaining flows to preserve biodiversity. None of these should be sacrificed for the sake of achieving consistent valuation methodologies.

Traditional economic accounting, often a key means of informing policy decisions, tends to limit water values to the way that most other products are valued – using the recorded price or costs of water when economic transactions occur. However, in the case of water, there is no clear relationship between its price and its value. Where water is priced, meaning consumers are charged for using it, the price often reflects attempts for cost recovery and not value delivered. Yet, regarding valuation, economics remains a highly relevant, powerful and influential science, even though its application needs to be made more comprehensive.

Nevertheless, the different values of water need to be reconciled, and the trade-offs between them resolved and incorporated into systematic and inclusive planning and decision-making processes. The way forward, therefore, will be to further develop common approaches to valuation where feasible, but also to prioritize improved approaches to compare, contrast and merge different values, and to incorporate fair and equitable conclusions into improved policy and planning.

The 2021 edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report (UN WWDR 2021) entitled ‘Valuing Water ’ groups current methodologies and approaches to the valuation of water into five interrelated perspectives: valuing water sources, in situ water resources and ecosystems; valuing water infrastructure for water storage, use, reuse or supply augmentation; valuing water services, mainly drinking water, sanitation and related human health aspects; valuing water as an input to production and socio-economic activity, such as food and agriculture, energy and industry, business and employment; and other sociocultural values of water, including recreational, cultural and spiritual attributes. These are complemented with experiences from different global regions; opportunities to reconcile multiple values of water through more integrated and holistic approaches to governance; approaches to financing; and methods to address knowledge, research and capacity needs.

From Water UK

Global water community challenged to join the Race to Zero

Water companies around the world are being called on to join forces and transform their approach to tackling the carbon emissions associated with supplying water to billions of homes every year.

Launched in support of the UN’s World Water Day, the UK water industry is working as an official partner to the Race to Zero campaign to encourage providers of water and wastewater services to commit to achieving net zero ahead of the COP26 Climate Conference this November.

Led by the UN’s High-Level Climate Champions for Climate Action, the Race to Zero is a global campaign, which aims to rally leadership across businesses, cities, regions and investors for a healthy, resilient, zero carbon recovery. In January this year, the campaign launched its Race to Zero Breakthroughs, setting out the near-term targets that must be reached in the next decade by the nearly 30 sectors that make up the global economy.

For the water sector, the campaign’s ambition is to mobilise major water companies responsible for 20% of global water supply, with the aim of delivering the full decarbonisation of water and wastewater services in 20 countries by 2030.

However, Rivers Trust highlights Sewage Pollution and Bathing Waters

WORLD WATER DAY: NEW REPORT SHOWS PUBLIC UNAWARE OF SEWAGE POLLUTION IN RIVERS AND OVERWHELMING SUPPORT FOR BATHING WATER STATUS

A  report released on World Water Day shows that more than half of the public is unaware that untreated sewage is regularly discharged into England’s rivers, and that 90% support the introduction of designated bathing water status at popular recreational sites.

The report published by The Rivers Trust is based on a recent survey of more than 1,200 people, which also included questions about how people use rivers for recreation and assess whether they are safe. Whilst more than half of respondents either agreed or were unsure when asked if they thought that raw sewage discharges are strictly regulated, 89% agreed that untreated sewage discharges should not be permitted into rivers if it could affect water quality in recreational areas.

Mark Lloyd, CEO of The Rivers Trust, said: “Sewage pollution is a wicked problem affecting our rivers, which needs collective action by the whole of society if we are to make our rivers safer and healthier. This report shows there is much to be done to raise awareness of the issue, but also that there is overwhelming public support for urgent action. Introducing designated bathing water status across our watercourses would not only give people the confidence to enjoy using their rivers safely, but would also greatly benefit the environment and wildlife.”

The report forms part of the Trust’s Together for Rivers campaign, which aims to introduce designated bathing water status in UK rivers, a move which would require improved water quality and increased monitoring at, and upstream of, popular sites. It also includes the Trust’s landmark Sewage Map, which shows the locations of monitored discharges of untreated sewage in 2019, and will soon be updated with the 2020 data.

A site on the River Wharfe near Ilkley, West Yorkshire, became the UK’s first inland bathing water site in December 2020 following a campaign led by Ilkley Clean River Group. This was hailed as a victory for river campaigners, but England still lags behind other European countries – Germany and Poland have 32 and 76 designated sites respectively, while France has 420.

Mark Lloyd said: “Whilst the results of our survey show the lack of awareness of sewage pollution, the enthusiasm for more designated bathing water sites will bolster the hopes of various other campaign groups hoping to replicate the achievements of Ilkley Clean River Group, and we hope it will add to the growing body of evidence we have to encourage the government to implement the monitoring, regulation and investment needed to realise that goal. I strongly urge them to do so for the health and wellbeing of people and planet. “