Around the globe, approximately 2.2 billion people lack safe drinking water, and around 4.2 billion people lack safely managed sanitation. Even in the United States, access to water and sanitation is not universal. Climate change threatens to worsen income disparities and current inequities in access to clean, reliable, and affordable water and sanitation.
It is imperative that climate resilience strategies address the needs of frontline communities and that efforts to meet water and sanitation needs consider climate change impacts.
The Pacific Institute is addressing climate impacts on access to water and sanitation, as well as livelihoods and well–being for frontline communities in the United States and around the world. This critical work helps ensure investments that address the current humanitarian crisis also consider climate change and the related uncertainties.
Featured:
Pacific Institute Launches New Water & Climate Equity Strategy for United States
History of Pacific Institute Work on Sustainability Equity and Justice 1987 – 2022
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: Three Essential Ingredients to Resilient Agricultural Supply Chains
Water and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Equity Dimensions of Utility Disconnections in the U.S.
Plumbing the Depths: Californians Without Toilets and Running Water
Drought and Equity in California
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Huffington Post: Where Does California’s Agricultural Water Go?
Published: April 2015
Water plays a vital role in California's agricultural sector, using 80% of the water used by humans in the state. In recent months, water challenges imposed by the current severe drought have brought this agricultural water use into the limelight, raising new questions about how the water is used.
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Salton Sea +20
Published: September 2019
After decades of false starts and false hopes, progress might finally be within reach for California’s Salton Sea – the state’s largest and most maligned lake. California’s governor and natural resources secretary have demonstrated the commitment and political will needed to construct actual, on-the-ground habitat and dust control projects.
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GreenBiz Blog: The Three Questions You Need To Ask about Assessing Water Risk
Published: July 2014
Do your company's risk assessment processes consider water risk for every major capital decision, as well as operational management and supply chain partner screening?
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Huffington Post: Laudato Si’ and Water: The Vatican’s Encyclical Letter and Global Water Challenges
Published: June 2015
The official text of the much-anticipated Vatican's Encyclical Letter, "Laudato Si'" was released today. While considerable attention is being devoted to the sections of Pope Francis's new Encyclical related ...
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Why Companies Should Dip Their Toes in Clean Water (and Sanitation)
Published: November 2017
“While considerable progress has been made over the past decade across all areas of development, the pace of progress observed in previous years is insufficient to fully meet the Sustainable Development Goals and targets by 2030.” -United Nations, 2017
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Empowering People and Communities
Published: October 2012
Fundamental needs for environmental health, including safe water and sanitation, justice, and sustainability in poor and low-income communities around the world are not being met because of underinvestment, poor investment decisions, inappropriate technologies, ineffective systems of operation and maintenance, poor governance, and the failure to involve local residents in the decision-making process.
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The Stormwater Opportunity
Published: October 2018
Navigating around puddles that form on streets and in parking lots after a rainstorm can be a nuisance. But this water, technically known as stormwater, has the potential to become an important water supply for many Californian communities.
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COP26: A Bold Step Forward for the Water Resilience Agenda
Published: December 2021
With the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) now in the rearview mirror, three things are clear: 1) the water agenda received significantly more attention than previous COPs, 2) resilience and adaptation are gaining powerful traction alongside climate mitigation, and 3) the corporate sector has the opportunity to lead in this critical next stage of the climate crisis by turning commitments into tangible action.
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Corporate Water Stewardship in the Colorado River Basin
Published: April 2020
The Colorado River Basin is the lifeblood of the West, providing water to more than 40 million people in seven U.S. states and two states in Mexico. Irrigation using Colorado River water generates an estimated $8 billion annually in agricultural products like winter vegetables, cotton, and cattle and dairy. In addition, recreation along the river and its tributary streams (boating, swimming, hiking, camping, etc.) contributes $17 billion per year to local economies.
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The Lower Colorado River states need to get serious about water management and Conservative. They have overdevelopmented and over irrigated for years taking out more than their allotted share of water. The Upper Colorado River Compact states are now going to start withholding their full allotment of water. Wyoming is only using half of their annual water allotment. They will now start withholding their full share with 5 new or expanded dams that will be developed!! This will force the Lower Colorado River Compact states to get serious about water conservation!!