John,

Ten years ago today, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution affirming that water and sanitation are fundamental human rights, “essential for the full enjoyment of the right to life.”

Our Food & Water Watch Board Chair, Maude Barlow, was an advisor to the UN on water issues. She shared a memory of that pivotal day:

I was in the balcony of the General Assembly July 28, 2010, when it overwhelmingly adopted this historic resolution, and I remember feeling that in defining water and sanitation as an issue of justice rather than charity, the human family had just taken an evolutionary step forward.

She’s absolutely right. But despite this step forward, in the United States, millions are denied access to water due to unaffordable water rates, water shutoffs or a lack of water infrastructure. The fact that this is still happening is simply unacceptable!

Water affordability is a national problem, and water shutoffs are a policy decision — which means this is an issue we can solve. Send a message to your Members of Congress asking them to co-sponsor the WATER Act.

The right to water is a pivotal argument that Food & Water Action has made to stop water shutoffs in U.S. cities. The human right to water is also the foundation of the WATER Act, which would help ensure that every person has access to safe clean water in the United States.

The Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity and Reliability (WATER) Act reinvests federal dollars to provide $35 billion a year to:

• Make water affordable by prioritizing grants and subsidies to disadvantaged communities.
• Support publicly owned water systems by providing funds for communities to control their water systems and exit water privatization contracts.
• Get the lead out by helping communities remove lead pipes and helping schools test for lead and replace lead fixtures.
• Address PFAS water contamination (the chemicals used to make non-stick Teflon and fire suppression materials) by updating treatment systems or finding alternative water sources when PFAS contamination is found.

We know that industries like fracking and bottled water are diverting and polluting our dwindling water supplies. Millions around the world are threatened by drought. The UN warns that two-thirds of the global population could be living in water-stressed countries in just five short years.

Here in the U.S. drought is on the rise, as are water rates. And the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a huge spotlight on the water crisis where two in five households struggle to pay for water — yet utilities continue to shut off water, leaving thousands with no place to wash their hands.

But there is something we can do to fight this injustice and make sure EVERYONE has access to safe, clean, affordable water. Let’s vow to fulfill the pledge taken by the nations of the world 10 years ago: Water is a human right. Tell your Members of Congress to co-sponsor the WATER Act.

Onward together,

Wenonah Hauter
Founder and Executive Director
Food & Water Action and Food & Water Watch

P.S. Our Food & Water Watch Board Chair, Maude Barlow, served as an advisor on water to the UN and was there 10 years ago today when the UN adopted a resolution affirming that water and sanitation are fundamental human rights. Read her blog post about her memories from this pivotal day here.