Water Innovation Dashboard
The world loses fifteen times what it puts into water each year, and puts in a seventh of what meeting the targets needs.
Climate finance to water
about 3%
of total climate finance was water-related, on average, from 2016 to 2020
IWMI and WaterAid
Disasters that are water
74%
of all natural disasters between 2001 and 2018 were water-related
UNESCO and UN-Water, United Nations World Water Development Report 2020: Water and Climate Change
Aquifers drawn down
21 of 37
of the world's largest aquifers have exceeded sustainability tipping points and are being depleted, 13 of them significantly distressed
Richey et al., Water Resources Research, and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 2015
What the water is worth
about $58tn
the annual value of water and freshwater ecosystems in 2021, equivalent to 60% of global GDP
WWF, 2023
The Gap
US$ billions a year
Lost
$260bn
a year lost to inadequate water and sanitation, across 136 low- and middle-income countries, in 2010 money
WHO, 2012
Needed
$114bn
a year in capital investment to meet the drinking water and sanitation targets, on a range of $74bn to $166bn
World Bank Water and Sanitation Program, 2016
Adaptation finance
$17bn
a year of climate adaptation finance reaching water and wastewater, 37% of adaptation finance
Climate Policy Initiative, 2019 and 2020
What a Dollar Returns
US$ returned per US$ invested
Sanitation
$5.50
Both together
$4.30
Water supply
$2.00
Hutton, Journal of Water and Health
Against Utilities, Over Ten Years
ten-year annualised total return, US dollars, to 31 August 2026
S&P Global Water Index
10.5%
S&P Global BMI Utilities
9.0%
S&P Dow Jones Indices, 2026
Who Is Not Served
millions of people, 2024
2.1 billion lacked safely managed drinking water
Basic services
1400m
Limited
287m
Unimproved
302m
Surface water
106m
3.4 billion lacked safely managed sanitation
Basic services
1900m
Limited
560m
Unimproved
555m
Open defecation
354m
WHO and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme, 2025
Wastewater Treated, by Income
per cent of municipal and industrial wastewater treated
High income
about 70%
Upper middle
38%
Lower middle
28%
Low income
8%
UN World Water Development Report, 2017
Water-Related Violence
reported water-related violence events
Pacific Institute, 2025
Our Mission
The Water Foundation empowers individuals, organisations, and states to develop strategic capacity, increase resilience, and shape circular water and resource infrastructures for the future.
We build an ecosystem that addresses one of the least appreciated challenges of our time: water scarcity and impending degradation of our water systems.