World Water Day and the Human Right to Water: Knowledge is Power

To mark World Water Day on Friday, March 22, 2019, Northeastern Law School’s Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy has released a new publication, The Human Right to Water: Using Freedom of Information Laws to Understand Rising Water Rates. 

The report is designed as a guide to investigating local water policies. Water prices are rising dramatically across the country, often linked to aging infrastructure and extreme weather events.  Low income consumers are suffering, but it is not easy to find out what sort of affordability plans, if any, are offered by local municipalities. Using Freedom of Information laws, concerned individuals can start learning about their local water policies and push for more equitable approaches to price-setting.

International World Water Day is an initiative of the the United Nations and is held annually on March 22 as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. The theme for World Water Day 2019 is “Leaving no one behind,” which is the central promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: as sustainable development progresses, everyone must benefit. Learn more about World Water day at www.un.org/en/events/waterday.