How access to clean water affects families worldwide

World Water Week is taking place this week in Stockholm. The event brings attention to a global water crisis. More than 650 million people worldwide lack access to clean drinking water. The effects are astonishing.

In Bolivia, a family of four survives on 100 liters of water per day. Only 16 liters is used for cooking and drinking.

In Niger, only 49% of the rural population have access to water. Oftentimes, these water sources also carry disease.

This Mashable article takes a look at countries around the globe and how access to clean water and sanitation affects everyday lives.

Read more here: Troubled Water

Celebrating Water Through Art in India

The children of Kanija Village in India celebrated World Water Day this year through art by depicting how their lives are affected by water. Many communities lack access to clean, safe drinking water. Women and children often spend many hours each day searching for water, often unhealthy for human use. Water.org is one of several organizations working to provide these communities with the  infrastructure and access to clean drinking water.

The artwork is available on here: Art from Kanija Village.

‘We woke up in a desert’ – the water crisis taking hold across Egypt – – From The Guardian

On a blazing hot summer day, rumours that the water truck is finally arriving spread like wildfire through the village of Ezbit al-Taweel. In minutes, some 100 men, women and children pour onto the town’s main road, each with as many containers as they can carry.

Trying to escape the punishing sun, Osama Sayed and his seven-year-old son, Ahmed, take shelter beneath a bush. “It’s like we’ve travelled back in time, having to wait with jars for the water carrier,” says Sayed. Severe water cuts have repeatedly forced him and the 5,000 other farmers living in this small Nile Delta village to wait hours, sometimes even days, for drinking water, amid a severe heatwave in the Middle East.

Read more of The Guardian‘s story here: ‘We woke up in a desert’ – the water crisis taking hold across Egypt

Dirty water sickens rowers at pre-Olympic events in Brazil

The 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil are less than a year months away. But, Olympic hopefuls are already feeling the effects of the country’s water crisis.

Thirteen rowers on the U.S. team competing in the World Junior Rowing Championships are suffering from a stomach illness. Officials are not certain of the cause but linked the illness to the course, drinking water, bottled water and/or food contamination.

Last month, The Associated Press published the results of water quality analysis showing high levels of bacteria from human sewage at many of the water venues, including the rowing venue.

Read more of The Associated Press‘ story on NBC News here: Dirty Water Blamed for Sick Rowers at Brazil Olympic Trial