solar water disinfection is a low-cost method of purifying water that can often be implemented with locally available materials. unlike methods that rely on firewood, it has low impact on the environment. global access further information: wash solar water disinfection application in indonesia world map for sdg 6 indicator 6.1.1 in 2015: "proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services" percentage of the population with access to drinking water population in survey regions living without safely managed drinking water as reported by the who/unicef jmpproject in nepal: unboxing the water filter unit according to the world health organization (who), "access to safe drinking-water is essential to health, a basic human right and a component of effective policy for health protection.": 2 in 1990, only 76 percent of the global population had access to drinking water. by 2015 that number had increased to 91 percent. in 1990, most countries in latin america, east and south asia, and sub-saharan africa were well below 90%. in sub-saharan africa, where the rates are lowest, household access ranges from 40 to 80 percent. countries that experience violent conflict can have reductions in drinking water access: one study found that a conflict with about 2,500 battle deaths deprives 1.8% of the population of potable water. by 2015, 5.2 billion people representing 71% of the global population used safely managed drinking water services. as of 2017, 90% of people having access to water from a source that is suitable for drinking – called improved water source – and 71% of the world could access safely managed drinking water that is clean and available on-demand. estimates suggest that at least 25% of improved sources contain fecal contamination. 1.8 billion people still use an unsafe drinking water source which may be contaminated by feces. this can result in infectious diseases, such as gastroenteritis, cholera, and typhoid, among others. reduction of waterborne diseases and development of safe water resources is a major public health goal in developing countries. in 2017, almost 22 million americans drank from water systems that were in violation of public health standards, which could contribute to citizens developing water-borne illnesses. safe drinking water is an environmental health concern. bottled water is sold for public consumption in most parts of the world. improved sources are also monitored based on whether water is available when needed (5.8 billion people), located on premises (5.4 billion), free from contamination (5.4 billion), and within a 30-minute round trip.: 3 while improved water sources such as protected piped water are more likely to provide safe and adequate water as they may prevent contact with human excreta, for example, this is not always the case. according to a 2014 study, approximately 25% of improved sources contained fecal contamination. the population in australia, new zealand, north america and europe have achieved nearly universal basic drinking water services.: 3 as of 2015, american households use an average of 300 gallons of water a day. monitoring the who/unicef joint monitoring program (jmp) for water supply and sanitation is the official united nations mechanism tasked with monitoring progress towards the millennium development goal (mdg) relating to drinking-water and sanitation (mdg 7, target 7c), which is to: "halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking-water and basic sanitation". access to safe drinking water is indicated by safe water sources. these improved drinking water sources include household connection, public standpipe, borehole condition, protected dug well, protected spring, and rain water collection. sources that do not encourage improved drinking water to the same extent as previously mentioned include: unprotected wells, unprotected springs, rivers or ponds, vender-provided water, bottled water (consequential of limitations in quantity, not quality of water), and tanker truck water. access to sanitary water comes hand in hand with access to improved sanitation facilities for excreta, such as connection to public sewer, connection to septic system, or a pit latrine with a slab or water seal. according to this indicator on improved water sources, the mdg was met in 2010, five years ahead of schedule. over 2 billion more people used improved drinking water sources in 2010 than did in 1990. however, the job is far from finished. 780 million people are still without improved sources of drinking water, and many more people still lack safe drinking water. estimates suggest that at least 25% of improved sources contain fecal contamination and an estimated 1.8 billion people globally use a source of drinking water that suffers from fecal contamination. the quality of these sources varies over time and often gets worse during the wet season. continued efforts are needed to reduce urban-rural disparities and inequities associated with poverty; to dramatically increase safe drinking water coverage in countries in sub-saharan africa and oceania; to promote global monitoring of drinking water quality; and to look beyond the mdg target towards universal coverage. definitions illustration of a typical tap water treatment process a "safely managed drinking water service" is "one located on premises, available when needed and free from contamination". the terms 'improved water source' and 'unimproved water source' were coined in 2002 as a drinking water monitoring tool by the jmp of unicef and who. the term, improved water source refers to "piped water on premises (piped household water connection located inside the user's dwelling, plot or yard), and other improved drinking water sources (public taps or standpipes, tube wells or boreholes, protected dug wells, protected springs, and rainwater collection)". international development expanding wash (water, sanitation and hygiene) coverage and monitoring in non-household settings such as schools, healthcare facilities, and work places, is included in sustainable development goal 6. wateraid international is a non-governmental organization (ngo) that works on improving the availability of safe drinking water in some the world's poorest countries. sanitation and water for all is a partnership that brings together national governments, donors, un agencies, ngos and other development partners. they work to improve sustainable access to sanitation and water supply to meet and go beyond the mdg target. in 2014, 77 countries had already met the mdg sanitation target, 29 were on track and, 79 were not on-track. health aspects further information: wash § health aspects contaminated water is estimated to result in more than half a million deaths per year. contaminated water with the lack of sanitation was estimated to cause about one percent of disability adjusted life years worldwide in 2010. as contaminated water takes its toll on the health of those exposed, the duration of exposure plays a part in the effects of certain diseases. diarrheal diseases over 90% of deaths from diarrheal diseases in the developing world today occur in children under five years old.: 11 according to the who, the most common diseases linked with poor water quality are cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis a, typhoid, and polio. malnutrition, especially protein-energy malnutrition, can decrease the children's resistance to infections, including water-related diarrheal diseases. between 2000 and 2003, 769,000 children under five years old in sub-saharan africa died each year from diarrheal diseases. as a result from poor water quality and bad sanitation, an estimated 829,000 people die each year from diarrhoea. only thirty-six percent of the population in the sub-saharan region have access to proper means of sanitation. more than 2,000 children's lives are lost every day. in south asia, 683,000 children under five years old died each year from diarrheal disease from 2000 to 2003. during the same period, in developed countries, 700 children under five years old died from diarrheal disease. improved water supply reduces diarrhea morbidity by 25% and improvements in drinking water through proper storage in the home and chlorination reduces diarrhea episodes by 39%. groundwater pollution main article: groundwater pollution some efforts at increasing the availability of safe drinking water have been disastrous. when the 1980s were declared the "international decade of water" by the united nations, the assumption was made that groundwater is inherently safer than water from rivers, ponds, and canals. while instances of cholera, typhoid and diarrhea were reduced, other problems emerged due to polluted groundwater. sixty million people are estimated to have been poisoned by well water contaminated by excessive fluoride, which dissolved from granite rocks. the effects are particularly evident in the bone deformations of children. similar or larger problems are anticipated in other countries including china, uzbekistan, and ethiopia. although helpful for dental health in low dosage, fluoride in large amounts interferes with bone formation. half of bangladesh's 12 million tube wells contain unacceptable levels of arsenic due to the wells not dug deep enough (past 100 meters). the bangladeshi government had spent less than us$7 million of the 34 million allocated for solving the problem by the world bank in 1998. natural arsenic poisoning is a global threat with 140 million people affected in 70 countries globally. these examples illustrate the need to examine each location on a case-by-case basis and not assume what works in one area will work in another. regulations main articles: drinking water quality standards and list of water supply and sanitation by country guidelines for the assessment and improvement of service activities relating to drinking water have been published in the form of drinking water quality standards such as iso 24510. for example, the eu sets legislation on water quality. directive 2000/60/ec of the european parliament and of the council of 23 october 2000 establishing a framework for community action in the field of water policy, known as the water framework directive, is the primary piece of legislation governing water. this drinking water directive relates specifically to water intended for human consumption. each member state is responsible for establishing the required policing measures to ensure that the legislation is implemented. for example, in the uk the water quality regulations prescribe maximum values for substances that affect wholesomeness and the drinking water inspectorate polices the water companies. in the united states, public water systems, defined as systems that serve more than 25 customers or 15 service connections, are regulated by the u.s. environmental protection agency (epa) under the safe drinking water act. as of 2019 the epa has issued 88 standards for microorganisms, chemicals and radionuclides. the food and drug administration regulates bottled water as a food product under the federal food, drug, and cosmetic act. all public water suppliers in the us must uphold a certain standard of water quality. if the requirements are met, americans can drink their local tap water. new zealand the water services act 2021 brought taumata arowai' into existence as the new regulator of drinking water and waste water treatment in new zealand. initial activities including the establishment of a national register of water suppliers and establishing a network of accredited laboratories for drinking water and waste water analysis singapore singapore is a significant importer of water from neighbouring malaysia but also has a made great efforts to reclaim as much used water as possible to enure adequate provision for the very crowded city/state. their reclaimed water is marketed as newater. singapore updated its water quality regulation in 2019 setting standards consistent with who recommended standards. monitoring is undertaken by the environmental public health department of the singaporean government united kingdom in the united kingdom regulation of water supplies is a devolved matter to the welsh and scottish parliaments and the northern ireland assembly. in england and wales there are two water industry regulatory authorities. water services regulation authority (ofwat) is the economic regulator of the water sector; it protects the interests of consumers by promoting effective competition and ensuring that water companies carry out their statutory functions. ofwat has a management board comprising a chairman, chief executive and executive and non-executive members. there is a staff of about 240. the drinking water inspectorate (dwi) provides independent assurance that the privatised water industry delivers safe, clean drinking water to consumers. the dwi was established in 1990 and comprises a chief inspector of drinking water and a team of about 40 people. the current standards of water quality are defined in statutory instrument 2016 no. 614 the water supply (water quality) regulations 2016. the functions and duties of the bodies are formally defined in the water industry act 1991 (1991 c. 56) as amended by the water act 2003 (2003 c. 37) and the water act 2014 (2014 c. 21). in scotland water quality