Today: Bangladesh, BurkinaFaso, Cuba, Europe, France, India, Iraq, Mexico, Namibia, Nigeria, Privatisation, PublicWater, Remunicipalisation, Right2Water, Spain, UK, Uruguay, US, WASH, WaterBusiness, WaterCrisis
Every day the most important news on water and sanitation from around the world, compiled by the Blue Community Network, defending water as a common, public good and a human right.
Water crisis. Blue gold lost in European pipes
The EU’s drinking water networks are far from perfect. In some parts of Europe, more than 50% of resources are lost due to leaks in outdated infrastructure. This is a problem that Europe is only just beginning to address.
In some parts of Basilicata, a picturesque region nestled in the heel of Italy’s boot, up to 70% of drinking water never reaches the tap. The region’s coat of arms, featuring four blue waves representing the four rivers that flow through it, suggests a region rich in water. And then last summer arrived.
Iraq: Drought in the land of the Two Rivers
Iraq could lose 90 per cent of its water resources by 2035 if current trends persist alongside accelerating climate change, reports Nermeen Al-Mufti from Baghdad.
No one in Iraq ever imagined that the land of the Two Rivers, where history was born on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, would one day face a water crisis. But reality today is harsher than any fiction: the two rivers of Iraq are drying up, water bodies are evaporating, and people are leaving their villages in search of a single drop.
France: Anger over water bills after a change in private service provider (from Suez to Véolia)
For several days now, many residents of Genlis and the surrounding area have been voicing their frustration about their water bills. A change in service provider at the beginning of the year has led to a sharp increase in bills. Now, the Sinoël union and Veolia are attempting to explain the reasons for this, albeit rather belatedly.
It was an unpleasant surprise at the start of the summer holidays for residents of Genlis and several other towns in the Plaine Dijonnaise community of municipalities: their water bills had skyrocketed. Since receiving their bills, many residents have taken to social media to voice their concerns and have also contacted us.
Le Bien Public (French) / France – Privatisation – WaterBusiness
UK: Southern Water nearly doubles CEO pay to £1.4m despite bonus ban
Lawrence Gosden’s award comes amid high levels of corporate debt, serious sewage leaks and recent hosepipe ban.
Southern Water has nearly doubled its chief executive’s annual pay package to £1.4m despite financial difficulties and a government ban on it awarding bonuses.
Lawrence Gosden was awarded £691,000 under a “two-year long-term incentive plan” (LTIP), on top of fixed pay of £687,000 in its last financial year, according to the company’s annual report published this week.
Catalonia, Spain: Sant Iscle de Vallalta is committed to public water!
The city council has decided to remunicipalize the service, regaining control over such an important service.
There are now 42 municipalities in Catalonia that have taken the step towards public water management.
The City Council of St. Iscle de Vallalta (Maresme), since this July, has been enjoying public management of its water supply service. Since 2001, the management of the service was in the hands of Agbar, and after 24 years, the City Council has recovered direct management.
AMAP (Catalan language) / Spain – Remunicipalisation – PublicWater
In Burkina Faso, the IRC-OXFAM water and sanitation project is targeting 37,000 beneficiaries in the Centre-West region.
On Thursday 17 July 2025, the governor of the Centre-West region, Adama Jean Yves Béré, chaired the second session of the Regional Participatory Monitoring Committee for the ‘Partnership for the Development of Drinking Water and Sanitation Services in the Centre-West Region’ project in Koudougou. This strategic meeting forms part of the ongoing efforts to promote more inclusive and sustainable governance of water and sanitation for the benefit of local populations and internally displaced persons (IDPs).
US: 50 New Water Fountains in Public Parks will Have Spigots to Refill Water Bottles for 1st Time
Council Member Gale Brewer, the prime sponsor of the bill, said that adding a spigot to refill reusable water bottles as well as water drinking to 50 new fountains could help to cut down on plastic bottle waste.
New water fountains to be installed near the entrance of 50 public parks across the city will be required to contain both a drinking fountain and, for the first time, a way to fill the reuseable water bottles that many New Yorkers now carry.
Our Town / US – PublicWater
Right to Water. By Gerhard Klas
Climate change, social inequality, and industrial interests threaten the right to water. Without water, there is no life. But who actually decides how much of it people get? Who gets to live and who has to die? Corporations are making water scarce: through privatization, through its priority use for industrial purposes, through pollution and even poisoning.
Latin America: When community drinking water services fail…
…it is common practice to place all the blame on these community organisations, without considering that they are the last link in a WASH system that involves others.
In Latin America, more than 145,000 Community Water and Sanitation Service Organisations (OCSAS) provide over 80 million people with water (source: CLOCSAS). These organisations are made up of groups of neighbours who organise themselves to manage access to water and sanitation in rural, peri-urban and even urban areas, especially where public services are unavailable. They are therefore key to ensuring the right to water for people living in rural areas of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Analysis on Bangladesh’s UN Water Convention accession and water challenges
Bangladesh’s decision to join the United Nations Water Convention on June 20 is a seminal turn of events given its struggle with transboundary water management, especially in the shared river systems with India. It became a 56th party and the first South Asian country to sign to the framework, and hopes to improve cooperation and fairness in water sharing, which is important to its water security, because it depends on 57 shared rivers, major among like the Ganges and Teesta River, but this decision comes with challenges such as the expiry of the 1996 Ganges Water-Sharing Treaty in 2026 and the pending resolution of the Teesta River dispute, in the midst of political instability domestically in Bangladesh.
Mexico: The 66th Assembly of the Oaxacan Water Forum
On 4 July, the 66th Assembly of the Oaxacan Water Forum (FOA) took place in San Andrés Huayapam, Oaxaca. Around 250 people from various communities and regions of Oaxaca attended the event, including municipal and agrarian authorities, representatives of the federal and state governments, civil society organisations, research centres, and members of the public. The event was hosted by the Communal Property Commission of San Andrés Huayapam and the FOA.
agua.org.mx and Foro Oaxaqueno del Agua (Spanish) / Mexico
Mexico: Ten years in prison for water theft
‘Water theft’ refers to the illegal extraction and sale of drinking water, often via covert connections to distribution networks or wells. This practice is similar to fuel theft, where gasoline or diesel is illegally extracted from Pemex pipelines. In the context of water, theft mainly affects areas where there is a shortage, and thieves sell the stolen water at high prices, impacting the population who end up having to buy water that should be a basic right.
How does water theft work?
Making Cities Self-Sufficient in Their Water Needs: An Interview With Vishwanath Srikantaiah
In a conversation with Earth.Org, Vishwanath Srikantaiah, a water conservation expert and urban planner, discussed the many initiatives that have been implemented to improve water security in Bangalore, India’s third most popolous city. Interestingly, many of these initiatives can be mapped – intentionally or not – to circular economy principles.
Namibia: Zaamwani urges residents to pay for water
Agriculture, water and land reform minister Inge Zaamwani has warned that the continued failure to pay for water services poses a serious risk to the sustainability of Namibia’s water infrastructure.
Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of the N$743 million Oshakati Water Treatment Plant extension on Thursday Zaamwani said the country’s main bulk water supplier, NamWater, operates on a cost-recovery basis and cannot sustain services if users do not pay.
“Water infrastructure is not sustainable without payment for the water we use.While we understand the economic hardships that some households face, I must urge our people to prioritise payment of water bills. When we do not pay, we cannot maintain our water supply infrastructure,” she said.
Read also: Namibia launches major water project to tackle regional shortages. Xinhua
Nigeria: Niger community gets potable water after 40 years
Nigerian Indigenous Women in Mining and Natural Resources Organisation (NIWIMNRO) has provided potable water to Kuchiko Community in Tafa Local Government Area of Niger.
Ms Felicia Dairo, Executive Director of the group, said this at the inauguration of a borehole in Kuchiko on Thursday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project is with support from the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.
Cuba: Power cuts have left thousands of families in Havana without drinking water.
For many Cubans, a lack of water is an everyday hardship.
The government of the island’s capital reported on its Facebook page that the state-owned company Aguas de La Habana had announced multiple power outages during the early hours of the morning had seriously affected the southern supply system and interrupted water pumping at several stations in the Boyeros municipality.
Uruguay scraps mega drinking water project agreed by Luis Lacalle Pou and evaluates alternatives
According to Canal 12’s Telemundo news programme, the government of Yamandú Orsi has decided to cancel the construction of a water treatment plant in Arazatí, San José department (100 kilometres from Montevideo), on the Río de la Plata. On Wednesday afternoon, the executive branch communicated its decision to the Aguas de Montevideo consortium, which was set to carry out the project. The government is now seeking new alternatives to expand the drinking water supply in the capital, which experienced serious problems in 2023.
Vietnam: Rural clean water challenge
In the context of increasingly severe climate change, ensuring clean water sources for rural people in Lam Dong is becoming a major challenge, requiring synchronous solutions and sustainable investment.
The centralized rural clean water project in Nhan Co commune has been damaged and out of operation for many years.
In the context of increasingly evident climate change, surface water and groundwater resources in many localities of Lam Dong tend to become increasingly scarce. During the dry season, ensuring clean water for people is not easy.
