How to Help Solve the World Water Crisis
Clean water changes lives. For families in developing countries, fresh water means better health, time for school, and hope for the future. Millions of people still drink dirty water every day, which leads to sickness and keeps communities from growing.
Simple changes can make a lasting difference. Here’s a look at trusted methods that help bring safe water where it’s needed most.
Build Deep Wells
Deep wells pull clean water from far below the ground. Hand pumps or solar-powered pumps make it easy to bring water to the surface. These wells last longer than shallow wells. They also protect water from germs, dirt, and animal waste. Local training helps families fix and care for the pumps, so water keeps flowing year after year.
Hipporoller is a simple invention that lets women and children wheel water from wells, rather than walk for miles carrying heavy buckets on their heads (which leads to headaches and weak bones). It’s also quicker, meaning children spend more time in school.
Provide Water Filters
Portable filters, like ceramic or sand filters, help families make dirty water safe. These tools block out bacteria and dirt. Small filters fit right on a jug or bucket, while larger ones can clean water for a school or whole village.
Lifestraw is a personal water filter that needs no electricity, and purifies unsafe water. Some people say this should not be used to ‘make people drink dirty water’, but it’s quick and affordable to save lives, while people wait for others to build wells.
Set Up Rainwater Harvesting
Rainwater is free and fresh. Large tanks, gutters, and simple pipes can capture and save rain from rooftops. Even in dry places, this makes the most of each downpour.
Stored rainwater helps during dry months, and basic filters or boiling can make it safe to drink. Schools and homes can collect rainwater and use it for cooking, washing, and watering gardens.
Protect Springs
Some places have natural springs bubbling up from underground. With a concrete cover, the water stays clean and easy to collect. Protected springs are safer because they keep out dirt. People often line up with buckets at the spring, knowing the water is safe. It’s a simple fix with a big payoff for many villages.
Build Piped Water Systems
Pipes deliver water straight to where people live. When springs, wells or rivers are nearby, pipes can carry water over hills or long distances. Taps in the village save time and effort. No need to walk for hours each day just to collect water.
Piped systems need planning and upkeep, but they give whole communities steady access to fresh water.
Support Water Education
Clean water only stays safe if people know how to use and protect it. Local trainers or school teachers can show best ways to store water and keep it clean. Simple lessons help villages avoid wasting water or getting it dirty.
To keep water sources safe, communities need clean toilets and places to wash hands. Building simple latrines and washing stations stops germs from spreading. These projects work best when everyone helps out. Children learn the right habits at school, and parents keep families healthy at home. When sanitation improves, illnesses from dirty water fall fast.
A Beer That Funds Clean Water Projects
Brewgooder stands out in the world of beer for more than its refreshing taste. This brand pours purpose into every pint, helping fund clean water projects in countries that need it most.
The company founder caught a parasite from dirty water while travelling in Nepal and since then, the company uses profits to build clean water projects worldwide.
Just pop the ring-pulls back over cans before recycling, to avoid wildlife getting trapped.
Never buy beers in plastic rings. They are invisible in water, and can get stuck around the necks and beaks of birds. If you see any, rip the holes, and securely bin them.
For every can of Brewgooder sold, a part of the profit goes straight to clean water projects. The brand works with trusted partners to fund wells, boreholes and sanitation programmes in communities without safe drinking water.
Brewgooder’s reach spans many countries, from Malawi to Nepal. These projects bring more than water—they support schools, reduce disease, and free up time for children to learn and play.
Brewgooder doesn’t just do good, it tastes good too. Their range is brewed with quality hops and malt. These beers have won taste awards, showing you don’t have to sacrifice flavour for ethics. Crisp, clean and balanced, they suit a summer BBQ or a cosy night in.
The range includes:
- New England IPA (hazy and juicy)
- Lager (crispy and zesty)
- Session IPA (hoppy and light)
- Hazy IPA (soft and citrusy)
- Tropical Ale (fresh and fruity)
Along with vegan principles, Brewgooder takes climate action. The brewery uses renewable energy where possible and chooses partners that share a green approach. Packaging is fully recyclable, from cans to boxes.
Recycled Toilet Paper (that builds toilets)
An easy way to help, is simply to switch to brands that donate a portion of profits to bring clean water to developing countries. Who Gives a Crap? (recycled paper toilet paper) donates to clean sanitation projects abroad
ONE Water (sold in Co-op)
Although it’s safe in England to drink tap water, many people choose to buy bottled or canned water brands. Yet access to clean drinking water is not a reality for everyone.
Despite water being (along with air) one of our essentials, millions of people worldwide lack access to clean safe water, and 3 million people die each year from waterborne diseases (most are children under 5 years old).
One Water, a canned water brand (still or sparkling), set out to change that with a simple, heart-warming idea: use the profits to fund clean water projects. Sold in Co-op and many other shops nationwide.
Never give sparkling water to pets, it could cause bloat.
Buying a can of One Water does more than quench thirst. Each bottle sold funds programs that bring clean and safe water to people in need.
These projects include building wells, fixing local water pumps and setting up water tanks in villages where drinking water is hard to find.
In 2003 (on the same day that Saddam Hussain was found hiding in a bunker) the founder of One Water had just returned from 2 years travelling around the world (which included a spate without safe clean water thanks to Hurricane Mitch in Honduras).
He opened the newspaper to find a photograph of a young girl in Nairobi. She was sitting next to a tap – that was padlocked.
So far his foundation has raised over £30 million, helping to bring clean safe water to over 5 million people.
Monies raised from buying One Water mostly focus on work in 4 countries:
- Ghana
- Malawi
- Kenya
- Rwanda
Projects helped so far include a whole village receiving clean safe water in Malawi (where almost half the country has no access to clean water and 25% of people have no access to clean toilets).
A Book to Solve the World Water Crisis
The Last Drop is an important book. looking at solve the lack of fresh water (most is held up in glaciers, and the rest is often polluted). An environmental journalist meets experts, victims, activists and pioneers to show how we can solve the water crisis, to ensure that everyone on earth (along with our animal friends) have access to fresh clean water.
In South Africa, more than 30,000 people in the agricultural sector have lost their jobs, because there’s no water to irrigate the crops.
Some farmers are cutting the buds off orchard trees because if there’s fruit and no water, it could damage them irreparably. And people from outside Cape Town are donating food for livestock, because there’s a shortage of fodder.
Tim Smedley is an award-winning environmental journalist who has written for many top newspapers. His book Clearing the Air (about the global effects of air pollution) was shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize. Air pollution kills 19,000 people each day worldwide (more combined than car accidents, malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS).
