COMMENTARY: World Water Day highlights something Great many of us take for granted

Even in a city where the river once oozed rather than flowed, it can be easy to take such amazing natural resources for granted.

Friday is World Water Day, a celebration of safe drinking water and sanitation, and this year’s campaign promotes sustainable management of the world’s limited freshwater resources.

The Sewer District has been in the clean-water business since 1972 where we have helped reduce pollution and bring a nearly dead river and damaged Great Lake back to life. Combine that with a 25-year program to reduce bacteria in Lake Erie and our new regional stormwater program, it makes sense that we would support World Water Day to bring appreciation to the clean-water and sanitation access we enjoy— while billions of people suffer without it.

Statistics show 2.5 billion people around the world lack access to improved sanitation, and 780 million lack access to clean water.

The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District treats more than 200 million gallons of water every day and understands how critical it is to public health and the environment.

On World Water Day, we will team up with Drink Local. Drink Tap. to bring more than 300 students to the Greater Cleveland Aquarium to help them learn more about our urban water cycle and world water issues.

To us, every day is water day. What about you?