Moving Water: From Ancient Innovations to Modern Challenges

Water is essential to our lives. We need it for drinking, cooking, cleaning, watering crops, and feeding livestock and pets. People living thousands of years ago knew this, and they engineered systems that brought water to where they lived and where they grew crops. Their innovations were shaped by climate, weather, and the location of freshwater sources.

Some of these ancient water systems are still in use. But climate change is impacting the water supply, causing floods and droughts. Water scarcity is a growing problem around the world. About 780 million people — one in ten people on the planet — lack access to drinking water, and nearly 2.4 billion people have inadequate sanitation.

Each of the six places featured in this exhibit reflects the toll that climate change is taking on the world’s water supply. Governments in all of these places are addressing the challenges. Some are partnering with non-governmental organizations to reduce the cost of water. Where flooding is common, workers are reinforcing river banks, and officials are writing monsoon contingency plans and issuing flood forecasts.

Countries around the world are prioritizing the urgent need for clean water. Solutions are underway to provide people with access to water — one of our most vital, and most irreplaceable, resources