At the time, the World Health Report 2002 estimated that achieving the millennium goal of “halving by the year 2015 the proportion of people who are unable to reach or to afford safe drinking water” would yield a gain of approximately 30 million DALYs worldwide. Achieving universal access (evaluated at 98% coverage) of improved water supply and basic sanitation plus disinfection at point of use would result in an additional 553 million DALYs. A catastrophic drought in 1834 meant that water availability dropped from 75 litres per capita per day to 1 litre per capita per day and triggered a cholera epidemic. This in turn led to the construction of a canal to bring water, which allowed augmenting water supply to 370 litres a day after its completion in 1848.