As Chair of the United Nations Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB), I participate in many global water meetings. We often talk about the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - the set of development objectives the world set for itself for 2015.

Today is World Water Day. In light of this day's theme "Clean Water for a Healthy World," it is important to reflect on the Millennium Development Goal target for water, which is to cut in half by 2015 the number of people globally, who do not enjoy sustainable access to safe drinking water.
According to the Joint Monitoring Programme, the UN group which tracks progress, the world will reach that target which is encouraging news! It is estimated that no fewer than 810 million people, including 120 million people in sub-Sahara Africa have gained access to drinking water since the MDG targets were formulated in 2000.

But, while we basically know how many people have access to drinking water, we do not know if that water is actually safe to drink. In fact recent reports determine that an alarming quantity of the improved drinking water tracked by the Joint Monitoring Programme carries unsafe levels of microbes and chemicals. Rather than sustaining life, this water is making people sick.

When leaders gather this September in New York for the 2010 Millennium Summit to assess progress on the MDGs, they will be congratulated for actually exceeding the MDG water target. But we should not be lulled into a false sense of complacency, since we know that despite the increased access to improved sources of water, millions of these people are not yet enjoying the health benefits that come with a reliable supply of safe water.

Today is about clean water for a healthy world. It is not enough to have water. It must be fit for humans to drink. Water quality is diminishing since we extract massive amounts from rivers, lakes, aquifers and return it to our ecosystems full of waste - from our industries - from our farms - from ourselves. We need a concerted effort to treat polluted water before returning it to the environment or else we will have no hope of enjoying clean water for a healthy world. But we need a 21st century model. Business as usual for wastewater collection, treatment and reuse is not the answer. Which is why UNSGAB' next 3 year mandate document - the Hashimoto Action Plan II-broadens our existing efforts on sanitation to include a new focus on wastewater.

Let's build wastewater systems that save energy, lower construction costs, and harvest nutrients. The energy required to move water runs as high as 35 to 40 percent of many municipal energy bills. New systems should use less water and be energy efficient thereby contributing to our climate change efforts. We need more affordable systems adapted to local conditions that are as small as possible and as big as necessary.

A waste water revolution will require a dedicated movement and engagement with engineers, city and regional planners, mayors, local officials and bankers with governments taking a proactive role in stimulating structural change and technological progress. This is an area where developing countries can seize a real opportunity for green growth and sustainable jobs.
UNSGAB thanks everyone who fights to protect their local water quality. This is a day to recognize these efforts. It has been said so many times, but it bears repeating. Water is life. This is a fundamental fact which we remember not only on World Water Day, but every day of the year.