Achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which requires that all countries ensure the availability and sustainable management of fresh water and hygienic sanitation for all by 2030, requires a whole-of-water-cycle approach to water management.

Previously, the majority of efforts globally have focused on providing households with a constant supply of water and access to hygienic sanitation, but meeting SDG 6 will prove unattainable unless all the components of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), especially water management, are not attended to.

SDG 6 calls for, among other requirements, the improvement of the quality of the water by minimising the release of hazardous chemicals and materials, eliminating dumping, reducing pollution, increasing recycling and safe re-use, and halving the proportion of untreated wastewater.

Currently, in excess of 80% of wastewater generated globally flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused. This is an opportunity that is generally missed when systems to address water and sanitation needs are developed and implemented. As populations increase and the demand for fresh water increases, the amount of wastewater generated also increases, which represents a growing challenge to human health as well as placing a massive burden on the management of our ecosystems.

Unfortunately, as in most things, the burden of untreated wastewater falls disproportionately on the poor who already have limited access to a freshwater supply and sanitation facilities. While around 70% of the wastewater generated in high-income countries is treated, a mere 8% of the wastewater generated in low-income countries is treated.

Poor communities are faced with a problem of faecal sludge, generated from a lack of sewered sanitation systems, that presents a significant negative public health and environmental and risk. Without proper management, this faecal sludge, which contains a number of pathogens that remain highly infectious for long periods of time, ends up in waterways, which increases the risk of disease transmission in communities.

It is vital that wastewater is treated to stop this from happening and to meet the growing demand for water.

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