Lucy Corkhill

By Lucy Corkhill

16th March 2013

World Water Day is an important occasion, held annually on 22 March. Its aim is to focus attention on the importance of freshwater and advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. The United Nations founded the day in 1993 as an international celebration of freshwater as a right for everyone. Freshwater is crucial to the lives of everyone on our planet.

Lucy Corkhill

By Lucy Corkhill

16th March 2013

Lucy Corkhill

By Lucy Corkhill

16th March 2013

World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater every year. In 2013, in reflection of the International Year of Water Cooperation, World Water Day is also dedicated to the theme of cooperation around water.

At present, over 1 billion people on the planet live each day without clean water, and the negative effects of this are far-reaching. World Water Day seeks to raise awareness of the water problems the world currently faces and to encourage everyone to do what they can so that clean, safe water can be had by all.

Find out more about the world’s H20 with these videos

This video has some interesting water facts in a vivid and accessible format to share with your kids

Watch this video to find out more about the water crisis facing over 1 billion people worldwide.

A beautiful animated video explaining the crisis through images and how clay water filters can transform lives

Water facts for kids

On the Waterwise website, you’ll find tips on how to save water in your everyday life, plus a lively video for kids. These interesting facts about water are from their kids’ web page:

• The water on the planet is as old as the dinosaurs! The water on Earth continually gets recycled through the water cycle. It goes from a solid (ice), liquid (water) and a gas (vapour), and covers about 70% of the Earth’s surface.
• Out of all the water on Earth only 1% of it is available for us to use and drink – the rest is locked up in oceans and ice caps.
• The average person in the UK uses 150 litres of water a day. This takes into account cooking, cleaning, washing and flushing. Using this much water every day is not sustainable and we are not the only ones with a water scarcity problem. According to the BBC 2/5 of world population already faces water shortages, and 1.1 billion people in the developing world do not have access to a minimal amount of clean water.
• People in rich countries use ten times more water than people in poor countries. Even in poor countries the rich can use as much as several hundreds of litres of water a day, and the poor have access to as little as 20 litres per person per day.

Water charities changing lives

Just a Drop was launched in 1998 as an international water aid charity. Fiona Jeffery, the charity’s founder, learnt that just £1 can deliver clean water to a child for up to 10 years. Just a Drop was born, based on the premise that if people can be encouraged to give a little then collectively we can make a huge difference.

Water Aid tackle the water crisis from all angles, working with local partners to deliver services, influencing decision-makers to make change happen, and generating incredible support across the world. Clean water and safe sanitation underpin health, education and livelihoods: their work transforms millions of people’s lives every year.

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