Our Scans · (LF.6) Clean Water and Sanitation · Weekly Summary

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 6. Ensure availability of water and sanitation for all.

• [New] With fewer than five years remaining until 2030, the world is off track to achieve universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Welthungerhilfe.de - Fur eine Welt ohne Hunger und Armu
• [New] Planetary water crisis: UN warns that humanity is already consuming more water than the Earth can replenish. The Green Amazon
• [New] Over 1.42 billion people, including 450 million children, already live in conditions of high or extremely high water vulnerability. / USA Health Policy Watch
• [New] Elevated levels of GenX could make it more challenging for water utilities such as Louisville's to comply with federal rules for safe drinking water. KFF Health News
• [New] The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and State announced a strengthened commitment under the 1944 Water Treaty that will improve cross-border water management and provide greater certainty for growers who depend on reliable water deliveries from the Rio Grande. Irrigation Today
• [New] Updates to the 1944 Water Treaty could reduce uncertainty for irrigation-dependent farms in South Texas. Irrigation Today
• [New] Mexico has agreed to deliver a minimum of 350,000 acre-feet of water per year to the U.S. during the current five-year cycle and will formulate a detailed plan to fully repay all outstanding water debt accrued during the previous cycle. Mexico News Daily
• [New] The U.S. is to deliver water from the Colorado River for use in Mexico, while Mexico is expected to deliver water from its tributaries back to the Rio Grande for use by farmers and communities in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Texas Farm Bureau
• [New] Safer alternatives to their use in everyday items, such as water-repellent clothing and footwear, could be developed. American Chemical Society
• [New] Communities across England could soon benefit from thirteen new designated bathing water sites, in what ministers describe as a significant expansion of safe, monitored places to swim. Positive News
• [New] Anglian Water is seeking two framework partners, which could be design-and-construct organizations or a joint venture of capable partners with proven experience in delivering portfolios of magnitude. Anglian Water Services
• [New] Across both catchments, £150 million will be invested to capture 190 million liters - or nearly 32 million toilet flushes' worth - of excess flows during heavy rainfall so they can be fully treated, protecting bathing water quality by preventing storm overflow discharges. Anglian Water Services
• [New] Public water systems have until 2029 to reduce PFAS in drinking water. WRDW-TV/WAGT-TV
• [New] With US$ 1 billion in EPA funding now flowing to states for PFAS remediation, the contrast between clean bottled water and contaminated tap water will only sharpen. Yahoo Finance
• [New] The Fengmiao Offshore Wind Farm, situated in the Taiwan Strait approximately 36 kilometers off the coast of Taichung City, will feature water depths ranging from 53 to 64 meters. MarineLink
• [New] At 2026's Winter Games, roughly 27,000 cubic meters (953,000 cubic feet) of water will be used to make artificial snow, the equivalent of 11 Olympic-size swimming pools. BBC
• [New] MENA will continue to attract robust infrastructure investment across rail, power, digital, and water - especially desalination-driven by ambitious project visions in Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Egypt. Passle
• [New] Over 700 million people are projected to be displaced by water scarcity by 2030. Health Policy Watch
• [New] The Middle East, North Africa, South Asian and parts of the American Southwest face the most severe threat as high water stress collides with extreme vulnerability to climate change. Health Policy Watch

Last updated: 16 February 2026