Established in 1993, this annual event is celebrated every March 22nd to bring awareness about the importance of freshwater.

JCSD proudly provides its customers with safe tap water that meets all federal and state water quality standards. Those in our service area have readily available water for all their uses, including drinking, bathing, and cooking. World Water Day brings awareness to the fact that there are the 2.2 billion people around the world that do not have that same access. JCSD partners with UN-Water to bring awareness to this issue.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals were developed by the United Nations to provide a global blueprint for dignity, peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and in the future. Among these “SDGs” is Goal 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all. Water scarcity, poor water quality, and inadequate sanitation negatively impact things like food security, livelihood choices, and educational opportunities for poor families across the world. By 2030, the UN hopes to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.

“Water can help fight climate change. There are sustainable, affordable and scalable water and sanitation solutions.”

By protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems, they also hope to decelerate climate change to protect the population from extremes. For example:

  • Peatlands cover about 3% of the world’s land surface but store at least twice as much carbon as all of Earth’s forests. Mangrove soils can sequester up to three or four times more carbon than terrestrial soils. Protecting and expanding these types of environments can have a major impact on climate change.
  • Coastal mangroves and wetlands are effective and inexpensive natural barriers to flooding, extreme weather events and erosion.
  • Rainwater capture is particularly useful in regions with uneven rainfall distribution to build resilience to shocks and ensure supplies for dry periods.
  • Practicing conservation agriculture to improve soil organic matter (needed for the soil to retain water), reducing post-harvest losses and food waste, and transforming waste into a source of nutrients or biofuels/biogas can address both food security and climate change.
  • Unconventional water resources, such as regulated treated wastewater, can be used for irrigation and industrial and municipal purposes.

Although all face-to-face planned activities for World Water Day have been postponed in observance to COVID-19 safety and precautions, JCSD can still do our part to protect our water and share awareness of this day with our customers. Look for our posts on social media this Sunday March 22nd to celebrate this year’s World Water Day.

For More Information:

https://www.worldwaterday.org/ (World Water Day)

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/ (United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals)

https://wateractiondecade.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/UN-SG-Action-Plan_Water-Action-Decade-web.pdf (UN Water Action Decade Plan)