Water and Sanitation Services

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Lack of safe and reliable water supply affects more than 800 million people worldwide; over 2.5 billion people lack adequate sanitation services. Globally, this has a major negative impact on human health, environmental sustainability and on economic development. Rapid population growth, urbanisation, climate change, pollution and inadequate financing, present unprecedented challenges to the provision of water and sanitation services.

Improving and managing universal services of water and sanitation in a holistic manner is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and addressing the needs of millions of people around the world. To do so, it must take into account social, economic and environmental factors, while adapting to climate change risks to ensure the resilience of water and sanitation systems.

Partnering with water utilities, national and international institutions, the IWA Water and Sanitation Services programme works to ensure the safe, reliable, equitable and efficient supply and service delivery of water and sanitation. We do this through innovative pilot projects, international frameworks, and advocacy to improve regulation and policy, including the implementation of Water Safety Plans and Sanitation Safety Plans.

 

Related IWA Specialist Groups

Treatment Technologies
Water and Health

 

 

 

 

 

 

Information and Communications Technology

 

 

Daniela Bemfica
Strategic Programmes & Engagement Director

Initiatives

See initiatives related to this programme

Inclusive Sanitation

  Reshaping the global agenda on urban sanitation  ...

Climate Smart Utilities

Resilience needs to be built and coordinated at the basin, city and utility level to ensure adaptation measures for wate...

Operation & Maintenance Network

The Operation and Maintenance Network aims to contribute to the sustainability of water and wastewater services, and thr...

Water Safety Planning

Humanity cannot thrive and survive without water. Cities cannot function without water. A simple, but powerful reality. ...

Regulating for Citywide Inclusive Sanitation

Rallying service providers and regulators for joint action...

Human Rights to Water and Sanitation

Since the recognition, in 2010, of access to safe drinking water and sanitation as Human Rights by the Member States of ...

AquaRating

Water and wastewater companies are constantly challenged to deliver reliable, high quality, affordable, and sustainable ...

Innovators Platform

Bridging the chasm to get disruptive innovations in the water sector...

Water Policy and Regulation

Available and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all relies upon the collective action of interdependent...

Engage with the Digital Water Programme

The Digital Water Programme will help facilitate the journey of the water industry towards digital uptake and integratio...

View past initiatives

Climate Resilient Water Safety Planning to Improve...

Preventative management and planning approaches, such as Water Safety Plans (WSPs), provides a simple robust framework f...

Performance-Based Contracts for Non-Revenue Water ...

The financial viability and operational performance of water utilities is heavily affected by excessive levels of non-re...

Public Participation in the Regulation of Urban Wa...

In this project we look into the use of public participation within the decision making process of setting tariffs and p...

Urban Sanitation and Wastewater

Today, around 80% of all wastewater is discharged into the world’s waterways every day, where it creates health, envir...

Improving Water Security for the Poor (REACH)

REACH is a new global research programme to improve water security for the poor by delivering world-class science that t...

Blog Posts

Latest opinions and insights relevant to the water sector

This year’s World Water Day acts as a reminder for everyone to take action to secure progress on water and sanitation. This year’s theme of Accelerating Cha...
March 15, 2023
I recently went out in a kayak on the Molonglo River in my new home of Canberra, Australia. It was a peaceful morning and although the water was pleasant, it ha...
March 15, 2023
World Water Day 2023 marks the halfway point in the International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development – an opportunity to take stock and co...
March 10, 2023
The treatment of urban wastewater is a critical process for ensuring the protection of public health and the environment. As such, the European Union (EU) has r...

News / Events

March 8, 2023
IWA’s Inclusive Urban Sanitation initiative seeks to reshape the global urban sanitation agenda focusing on the need for an accelerated and inclusive approach...
March 3, 2023
The Uganda Water and Environment Week (UWEWK) is a flagship event organised annually by the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) through the Water Resources ...
March 1, 2023
London, UK – 1 March 2023 The International Water Association (IWA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have released the second edition of the Water ...
February 28, 2023
This Water safety plan manual provides practical guidance to support development and implementation of water safety planning in accordance with the principles p...
10 Dec - 14 Dec 2023 Rwanda/Kigali
10 Dec 2023 12:00:00 14 Dec 2023 18:00:00 Europe/London IWA Water and Development Congress & Exhibition 2023 IWA Event Kigali - Rwanda International Water Association contact@iwa.net
February 13, 2023
The International Water Association is pleased to announce that the next edition of the Water and Development Congress & Exhibition will take place on 10-14...