A 2009 U.S. Senate report states that “the global water crisis is a quiet killer. In the developing world, 5,000 children die every day from easily preventable, water-related illnesses such as cholera, typhoid and malaria, diseases that have been all but eradicated in wealthier nations. Most die silently.”

People need 50 liters of water per day to meet basic needs (for drinking, cooking and washing) , while, according to Johns Hopkins researchers, the average American uses 578 liters of water per day.  People living in poverty have access to much less than the basic levels needed to survive.