💧 Water & Sanitation
How we protect and share our most essential resource
The Problem
2 billion people lack safe drinking water. Water is increasingly privatized and commodified. Industrial agriculture and industry pollute aquifers and rivers. Climate change intensifies droughts and floods. Meanwhile, wealthy nations waste water at staggering rates.
The Alternative
Community Water Stewardship
Water managed as a commons by the communities that depend on it. Local water boards, transparent monitoring, and democratic control over allocation and quality.
Watershed Protection
Protecting entire watersheds — from mountain springs to river deltas. Reforestation, wetland restoration, and riparian buffers that filter and slow water naturally.
Open-Source Water Systems
Low-cost, locally buildable water purification, rainwater harvesting, and greywater recycling systems. Plans shared freely, adapted to local conditions.
Sanitation as a Right
Composting toilets, constructed wetlands, decentralized treatment systems, and community-maintained infrastructure. Turning waste into resources while preserving dignity.
Start Here
- ✓Learn where your water comes from and how it's treated
- ✓Reduce water waste — fix leaks, harvest rainwater
- ✓Protect local waterways — join a river cleanup
- ✓Support water as a public trust, not a commodity
- ✓Install rainwater collection if local laws permit
Already Happening
SAGUAPAC
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia · Est. 1979
The largest consumer-owned urban water cooperative in the world, serving over 1.4 million people with 97% coverage. Governed democratically by member-users, ranked among the best-performing water utilities in Latin America.
Fundacion Natura Bolivia
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia · Est. 2003
Pioneered Reciprocal Water Agreements where downstream users fund conservation for upstream landowners protecting watersheds. ~24,000 farmers protecting ~600,000 hectares across 80 Bolivian municipalities.
WaterAid
London, United Kingdom (30+ countries) · Est. 1981
Works alongside communities in the world's poorest regions to establish sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene systems. A leading advocate for recognizing water and sanitation as fundamental human rights.
Potters for Peace
Managua, Nicaragua (50+ countries) · Est. 1986
Developed an open-source ceramic water filter using local clay and colloidal silver that eliminates ~99.88% of pathogens. Deliberately unpatented, with communities in 50+ countries manufacturing filters locally.
OHorizons
New York, USA (Ecuador, Kenya, Mali) · Est. 2008
Created open-source Wood Mold technology for building BioSand water filters at one-tenth the cost of traditional methods. Communities manufacture their own household water purification using local materials.
Faircap
Barcelona, Spain · Est. 2015
Develops open-source, low-cost water filters designed to fit standard plastic bottles using 0.1-micron membrane technology. Designs are published openly for communities and makerspaces to produce locally.
Water.org
Kansas City, USA (11 countries) · Est. 2009
Uses WaterCredit — small affordable loans enabling families to finance their own water connections and sanitation facilities. Has reached over 60 million people across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Alliance for Water Stewardship
Edinburgh, Scotland (global) · Est. 2009
A global multi-stakeholder organization that developed the International Water Stewardship Standard, certifying responsible water use by businesses, governments, and communities across dozens of countries.
CAWST
Calgary, Canada (global) · Est. 2001
Made the biosand filter design freely available as open-source. Since 2001, helped 72 million people gain better water and sanitation through training-of-trainers programs across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Water For People
Denver, USA (9 countries) · Est. 1991
Builds lasting water systems using an 'Everyone Forever' model targeting full district-wide coverage. Ensures communities have local capacity to maintain infrastructure long-term.
iDE
Denver, USA (Cambodia, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nepal) · Est. 1982
Creates local sanitation supply chains enabling entrepreneurs to sell affordable latrines and water filters. Over 2 million improved latrines sold across nine countries.
Fundacion Avina
Panama City, Panama (15+ Latin American countries) · Est. 1994
Has provided clean water access to 5.3+ million people through 80,000+ community water organizations across Latin America. Developed the DOCSAS diagnostic platform deployed in 15 countries.
Surge for Water
Chicago, USA (12 countries) · Est. 2008
Women-founded nonprofit with 9,200+ water-access projects reaching 779,000+ people. Prioritizes empowerment of women and girls in sustainable water and sanitation outcomes.