Sanitation and Hygiene: Addressing Water Scarcity and Supporting SDG 6
Water is essential for life, health, food production, sanitation, industry, and the environment. Yet as populations grow, cities expand, and climate patterns change, the demand for freshwater continues to rise.
Water scarcity is not only about having too little water. It is also about infrastructure, water quality, sanitation, hygiene, wastewater management, pollution control, and fair access. A community may have water nearby, but that does not always mean every household has reliable access to affordable drinking water and sanitation services.
This is why global efforts such as Sustainable Development Goal 6, also known as SDG 6, focus on ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
Why Water and Sanitation Matter
Water supports nearly every part of daily life. Families use water for drinking, cooking, washing hands, bathing, cleaning, laundry, food preparation, and caring for children, older adults, and pets.
Sanitation and hygiene are just as important. Without proper sanitation, communities face greater risks from contaminated environments, poor wastewater management, and limited handwashing access.
Reliable water and sanitation help support:
- Household health and hygiene
- Schools and childcare facilities
- Hospitals and healthcare settings
- Food production and agriculture
- Businesses and industry
- Clean rivers, lakes, and groundwater
- Community resilience during drought or disruption
Water is not only a household resource. It is a foundation for public health, economic growth, and environmental stability.
Freshwater Is Limited
Earth has a large amount of water, but only a small portion is available as freshwater for everyday human use. Most of the planet’s water is saltwater in oceans and seas. Much of the remaining freshwater is stored in glaciers, ice, deep groundwater, soil moisture, and the atmosphere.
Freshwater is used for many purposes, including drinking, agriculture, manufacturing, energy production, sanitation, and ecosystem support. Because so many systems depend on the same limited resource, water must be managed carefully.
Protecting freshwater requires more than reducing household use. It also requires better wastewater treatment, pollution prevention, conservation, infrastructure investment, and protection of rivers, wetlands, forests, aquifers, and watersheds.
Drinking Water and Household Needs
Domestic water supply refers to the sources and infrastructure that provide water for households. Depending on the region, household water may come from public water systems, private wells, springs, rainwater collection systems, shared taps, vendors, or other local sources.
Households use water for many purposes:
- Drinking
- Cooking
- Washing hands
- Bathing
- Cleaning dishes and cookware
- Laundry
- Cleaning the home
- Watering plants or gardens
- Caring for animals
Reliable household water access supports daily routines and helps families maintain basic hygiene. When water access is limited or irregular, even simple tasks such as handwashing, cooking, and cleaning become more difficult.
Water and Human Health
Water plays many important roles in the body. It helps regulate body temperature, move nutrients, support digestion, cushion joints, maintain normal circulation, and assist the body’s natural waste-removal processes.
Drinking enough water is one part of everyday wellness. Access to water for sanitation and hygiene is another. Communities need both water for the body and water for clean living conditions.
When households lack reliable access to water, the effects can reach far beyond thirst. It can affect hygiene, food preparation, school attendance, healthcare, and the overall quality of life.
Water Use in Industry and Commerce
Water is also essential for industry and commerce. Businesses use water for cooling, cleaning, food production, manufacturing, energy generation, and daily operations.
Hospitals, restaurants, schools, hotels, offices, and factories all depend on water. In many industries, water is used to cool equipment, clean facilities, process raw materials, and produce finished goods.
Because industrial and commercial water use can be significant, responsible water management is important. Businesses can reduce waste by improving efficiency, reusing water where appropriate, maintaining equipment, and treating wastewater before discharge.
Water Use in Agriculture
Agriculture is one of the largest global users of freshwater. Crops need water for growth, photosynthesis, nutrient transport, and temperature regulation. Livestock and food processing also require reliable water supplies.
Irrigation allows food to be grown in areas where rainfall is not enough, but it can also place pressure on rivers, reservoirs, and groundwater. Efficient irrigation and better soil management can help reduce water waste while supporting food production.
Water-smart agriculture may include:
- Drip irrigation
- Soil moisture monitoring
- Mulching
- Cover crops
- Crop selection suited to the local climate
- Careful fertilizer use
- Protection of rivers, wetlands, and groundwater recharge areas
Food security and water security are closely connected. Protecting water resources helps support long-term food production.
What Is UN-Water?
UN-Water is a United Nations coordination mechanism focused on water and sanitation. It brings together UN agencies and international partners working on water-related issues.
UN-Water helps support global reporting, awareness campaigns, and coordination around topics such as drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, water quality, wastewater, ecosystems, and sustainable water management.
Two major annual observances connected to this work are:
- World Water Day, which focuses on freshwater issues
- World Toilet Day, which focuses on sanitation
These campaigns help raise awareness of the global need for reliable water and sanitation services.
What Is SDG 6?
Sustainable Development Goal 6 is one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Its official aim is to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
SDG 6 covers more than drinking water. It also includes sanitation, hygiene, wastewater treatment, water quality, water-use efficiency, integrated water resources management, ecosystem protection, and international cooperation.
Key SDG 6 priorities include:
- Access to drinking water
- Access to sanitation and hygiene
- Improved water quality
- Wastewater treatment and reuse where appropriate
- Better water-use efficiency
- Protection of rivers, lakes, wetlands, aquifers, and other water-related ecosystems
- Stronger local and international cooperation
In simple terms, SDG 6 recognizes that water is connected to health, education, food, climate, economic opportunity, and environmental protection.
Why Sanitation and Hygiene Are Part of Water Security
Water security is not only about having enough water to drink. It also includes access to sanitation and hygiene services that help communities stay clean and healthy.
Sanitation systems help manage human waste. Hygiene practices, such as handwashing, help reduce the spread of illness. Wastewater treatment helps protect rivers, lakes, groundwater, and coastal areas.
Without these systems, water sources can become polluted, and communities may face greater health risks. That is why drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, and wastewater management must be planned together.
Water Scarcity and Population Growth
As the population grows, demand for water rises. More people need water for households, farms, schools, hospitals, businesses, energy, and sanitation systems.
At the same time, climate change, drought, pollution, and infrastructure gaps can reduce reliable access to freshwater. This creates pressure on communities, especially in areas where water supplies are already limited.
Water scarcity can affect:
- Household access to drinking water
- Food production
- Sanitation systems
- Public health
- School and workplace conditions
- Water costs
- Local ecosystems
- Community stability
Reducing water scarcity requires both supply-side and demand-side solutions: protecting sources, improving infrastructure, reducing leaks, treating wastewater, improving irrigation, and using water efficiently.
Water Quality and Wastewater Treatment
Water quality is a major part of sustainable water management. Even when water is available, it may not be suitable for every use if it is affected by pollution, sewage, runoff, industrial discharge, or naturally occurring substances.
Wastewater treatment is essential because untreated or poorly treated wastewater can affect rivers, lakes, groundwater, and coastal ecosystems.
Improving water quality may involve:
- Better wastewater treatment
- Pollution prevention
- Stormwater management
- Industrial discharge controls
- Protection of source water areas
- Responsible agricultural practices
- Regular monitoring and reporting
When communities improve water quality, they also support public health, agriculture, ecosystems, and long-term water availability.
Water Efficiency: Using Less Without Losing Function
Water efficiency means using water more wisely so less is wasted. It does not always mean doing less. Often, it means using better fixtures, better habits, and better systems.
Examples of water efficiency include:
- Fixing leaks quickly
- Installing low-flow fixtures
- Using efficient washing machines and dishwashers
- Watering gardens early in the morning or later in the evening
- Using drip irrigation
- Choosing native or drought-tolerant plants
- Reusing water where appropriate
- Reducing water loss in public distribution systems
Water efficiency helps reduce pressure on freshwater supplies and can also lower energy costs because water must often be pumped, treated, heated, and transported.
How Households Can Support Water and Sanitation Goals
Large-scale water and sanitation challenges require policy, funding, infrastructure, and international cooperation. However, households can still contribute through everyday choices.
Practical steps include:
- Use water thoughtfully at home.
- Repair leaking faucets, toilets, and pipes.
- Do not pour grease, paint, oil, or chemicals down drains.
- Use household cleaners responsibly.
- Keep trash and yard waste out of storm drains.
- Choose water-efficient fixtures when replacing older ones.
- Reduce the use of single-use plastic bottles when practical.
- Support local watershed and cleanup efforts.
- Learn where your household water comes from.
Small household habits cannot solve global water scarcity alone, but they help support a culture of water awareness and responsibility.
Everyday Drinking Water at Home
For many families, water awareness begins with the water they drink every day. Households may choose point-of-use filtration to improve taste, reduce bottled water use, and make drinking water more convenient.
A countertop gravity-fed filtration system can be a practical option for daily drinking water, coffee, tea, and cooking. Berkey water filter systems are designed for everyday countertop use and can help improve the taste and quality of drinking water, depending on the filter elements used.
Popular options include:
- Big Berkey® Water Filter for regular household use
- Travel Berkey® Water Filter for smaller households or limited countertop space
- Royal Berkey® Water Filter for larger daily water needs
- Berkey Fluoride Filters PF-2 for fluoride reduction with compatible systems using Black Berkey® Elements
- Phoenix Gravity New Millennium Edition™ Filter Elements for compatible Berkey systems
Home filtration does not replace public water systems, sanitation infrastructure, or source water protection. It simply gives households another way to manage the water they drink and use every day.
FAQ: Sanitation, Hygiene, and SDG 6
What is SDG 6?
SDG 6 is the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal focused on water and sanitation. Its goal is to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
Why are sanitation and hygiene important?
Sanitation and hygiene help protect communities by supporting cleaner living conditions, safer waste management, handwashing access, and better water quality.
How does water scarcity affect sanitation?
When water is scarce, households, schools, healthcare facilities, and public systems may struggle to maintain cleaning, handwashing, waste management, and basic sanitation routines.
What is water efficiency?
Water efficiency means using water wisely so less is wasted while still meeting the same need. It includes efficient fixtures, leak repairs, smart irrigation, and better infrastructure.
How can households help protect water resources?
Households can fix leaks, use water carefully, reduce pollution, dispose of chemicals properly, choose efficient fixtures, reduce plastic waste, and learn about their local water source.
The Bottom Line
Water, sanitation, and hygiene are central to public health, food production, economic development, and environmental protection. SDG 6 recognizes that access to water and sanitation is not only a local issue but a global responsibility.
Addressing water scarcity requires better infrastructure, stronger wastewater treatment, smarter agriculture, pollution prevention, water efficiency, and protection of freshwater ecosystems.
At home, simple actions such as conserving water, preventing pollution, and choosing practical drinking water routines can support a broader culture of water responsibility. Every household can play a small part in protecting one of the world’s most important resources.