The day is a creation of the United Nations, dating to 1993. The U.N. has adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, of which availability of clean, safe drinking water is a major part, in the part of Sustainable Development Goal 6. In fact, the U.N. in 2010 declared access to safe, clean water a human right. And it's not just water for drinking: water for sanitation is part of that right.

Among the statistics in a January 2019 report put out by the U.N.:

• About 4 billion people are faced with a severe scarcity of water at least one month out of the year.
• The number of people who do not have safe water at home is 2.1 billion.
• One-quarter of the planet's primary school students do not having drinking water. As a result, students go without or drink unsafe water.
• Nearly 160 million people get their drinking water from (untreated) surface water–ponds, streams, and lakes.
• By 2030, the number of people who might have to find new homes because of water scarcity is estimated to be 700 million.

The U.N. and other world health organizations have gone to great lengths to publicize the need for safe, clean water for people. Also weighing in this week has been the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A statement by EPA Chairman Andrew Wheeler was that unsafe drinking water was a larger threat than climate change because it was so immediate.