Private companies should get more involved in tackling the world’s water crisis

WATER has zoomed far up the global agenda – and it is critical that private companies help with funding and new technology.

At a United Nations (UN) conference in New York this month, delegates were warned that two billion people, or a quarter of the global population, use unsafe drinking water sources. Some 3.6 billion people live without safely managed sanitation, and 2.3 billion lack basic handwashing facilities at home.

Besides access, pollution is an issue. More than 80 per cent of wastewater is released without being treated or reused, pointing to the need for stringent regulations to ensure better management.