Drinking water statistics span access, safety, health, household sources and public infrastructure. The measures below distinguish global estimates from U.S. surveillance, compliance records and projected infrastructure needs.
Key Drinking Water Statistics
The most broadly useful figures include:
- In 2022, 73% of the global population, about 6 billion people, used a safely managed drinking-water service.
- In 2022, 2.2 billion people worldwide lacked safely managed drinking-water services.
- In 2022, 1.5 billion people used basic drinking-water services with an improved source within a 30-minute round trip.
- In 2022, at least 1.7 billion people used a drinking-water source contaminated with faeces.
- WHO estimates that microbiologically contaminated drinking water causes about 505,000 diarrhoeal deaths annually worldwide.
- Between 2000 and 2022, 2.1 billion people gained access to safely managed drinking water globally.
- In 2022, safely managed drinking-water coverage was 94% in Europe and Northern America and 31% in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Low-income countries would need to increase their current progress rate sixfold for the basic-water target and 20-fold for the safely managed-water target toward 2030.
- About 1 in 8 U.S. residents gets drinking water from a private well, according to a 2015–2020 national estimate.
- About 1 in 5 sampled U.S. private wells had at least one chemical at a level that could affect health in a 2013–2015 study.
- U.S. public water systems reported 6,045 health-based drinking-water-standard violations in 2023, equal to 4% of active systems.
- U.S. public water systems reported 29,703 monitoring or reporting violations in 2023, equal to 20% of active systems.
- Public health officials in 28 U.S. states voluntarily reported 214 drinking-water-associated outbreaks during 2015–2020.
- Reported U.S. drinking-water outbreaks produced at least 2,140 illness cases, 563 hospitalizations and 88 deaths during 2015–2020.
- EPA estimated a $625 billion, 20-year U.S. drinking-water infrastructure need in the seventh DWINSA.
- EPA projected 9.2 million lead service lines nationally in the seventh DWINSA.
Contents
- Global drinking-water access and service levels
- Drinking-water progress, regional gaps and inequality
- U.S. drinking-water sources and use
- Drinking-water contamination, health burden and compliance
- Drinking-water outbreaks and reported outcomes
- Public drinking-water systems and infrastructure needs
Global Drinking-Water Access and Service Levels
The WHO’s 2022 global estimates separate safely managed service from lower levels of access. Safely managed means an improved source on premises, available when needed and free from contamination; the categories below are not interchangeable.
| 2022 global service level | Population | Definition or limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Safely managed | 73%, about 6 billion | Improved source on premises, available when needed and free from contamination |
| Basic | 1.5 billion | Improved source within a 30-minute round trip |
| Limited | 292 million | More than 30 minutes to collect, including queuing |
| Unprotected wells or springs | 296 million | JMP unimproved-source category |
| Untreated surface water | 115 million | Direct collection from lakes, ponds, rivers or streams |
Source: Drinking-water, WHO. The figures are 2022 estimates, and basic service does not meet every safely managed criterion.
Overall, 2.2 billion people lacked safely managed drinking-water services in 2022. WHO also estimates that at least 1.7 billion people used a source contaminated with faeces, which it describes as the greatest drinking-water safety risk.
Water access is also connected to wider environmental pressure. More than 2 billion people lived in water-stressed countries in 2021, according to the WHO fact sheet’s cited UN-Water reporting.
Drinking-Water Progress, Regional Gaps and Inequality
The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme provides internationally comparable household-service estimates for 2000–2022. Across that period, 2.1 billion people gained access to safely managed drinking water, while the population lacking at least basic service fell from 1.2 billion in 2000 to 703 million in 2022.
| Measure | Result | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Safely managed access gained, 2000–2022 | 2.1 billion people | Global |
| Gains in urban areas | 1.4 billion people | Global urban population |
| Gains in rural areas | 704 million people | Global rural population |
| Lacking at least basic service in 2022 | 703 million people | Global |
Source: Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2022: Special focus on gender, UNICEF Data. The urban and rural figures are residence-based breakdowns of estimated gains.
Regional coverage remains uneven. In 2022, safely managed drinking-water coverage reached 94% in Europe and Northern America, compared with 31% in sub-Saharan Africa.
The JMP’s assessment toward the 2030 targets also shows the scale of the required acceleration. Low-income countries would need to increase their current progress rate sixfold to meet the basic-water target and 20-fold to meet the safely managed-water target; these are progress-rate requirements, not forecasts of achieved coverage.
In fragile contexts, safely managed coverage was 38 percentage points lower than in other countries in the latest UNICEF comparison reported in 2023. That is a cross-context aggregate rather than a measurement for one country.
U.S. Drinking-Water Sources and Household Water Use
U.S. drinking-water statistics distinguish private wells from public supplies. About 1 in 8 U.S. residents gets drinking water from a private well, based on a 2015–2020 national estimate; that figure describes reliance, not measured household consumption.
A cited 2013–2015 study found that about 1 in 5 sampled private wells had at least one chemical at a level that could affect health. Because the wells were sampled, this is not a prevalence estimate for every private well.
| U.S. measure | Result | Period and scope |
|---|---|---|
| Residents using private wells | About 1 in 8 | 2015–2020 cited national estimate |
| Sampled private wells with a potentially health-affecting chemical | About 1 in 5 | 2013–2015 cited study |
| Local health departments regulating, inspecting or licensing private drinking water | 56% | 2016 national profile |
| Public-supply withdrawals | 39 billion gallons per day | 2015; domestic and other customers |
Source: Private Drinking Water and Public Health, CDC; How much water is used by people in the United States?, USGS. Public-supply withdrawals are broader than drinking-water use alone.
The 2016 profile found that 56% of U.S. local health departments regulated, inspected or licensed private drinking water. That measures local-government activity, not water quality or household exposure.
USGS reported 39 billion gallons per day in U.S. public-supply withdrawals in 2015. Public supply serves domestic and other customers, so the number should not be read as household drinking-water consumption.
Drinking-Water Contamination, Health Burden and Compliance
WHO estimates that microbiologically contaminated drinking water causes about 505,000 diarrhoeal deaths each year worldwide. A broader estimate attributes about 1 million diarrhoeal deaths annually to unsafe drinking water, sanitation and hand hygiene together, so it is not attributable to drinking water alone.
Among children under 5, unsafe drinking water, sanitation and hand hygiene were associated with about 395,000 avoidable deaths each year in WHO estimates. In 2021, more than 251.4 million people required preventive treatment for schistosomiasis, a disease contracted through exposure to infested water; this is not a count of contaminated drinking-water users.
Source: Drinking-water, WHO. These are modeled or associated estimates with the stated scope limitations.
EPA’s 2023 compliance report records reported violations among U.S. public water systems. A violation does not by itself establish consumer exposure.
| 2023 U.S. public-water-system measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Health-based drinking-water-standard violations | 6,045; 4% of active systems |
| Monitoring or reporting violations | 29,703; 20% of active systems |
| Systems classified as enforcement priorities for at least one quarter | 5,018; 3.4% of active systems |
| Systems returned to compliance | 24,819 |
Source: Providing Safe Drinking Water in America: 2023 National Public Water Systems Compliance Report, EPA. Monitoring or reporting violations mean information was late, incomplete or not reported.
Small systems serving 3,300 people or fewer accounted for 4,667, or 93%, of the 5,018 systems in enforcement-priority status in 2023. The 93% denominator is enforcement-priority systems, not all public water systems.
Drinking-Water Outbreaks and Reported Health Outcomes
CDC’s National Outbreak Reporting System data provide a surveillance view rather than a national incidence estimate. Public health officials in 28 U.S. states voluntarily reported 214 drinking-water-associated outbreaks during 2015–2020.
| Reported U.S. drinking-water outbreak measure | Result | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Total reported outbreaks | 214 | 2015–2020 |
| Biofilm-associated outbreaks | 187; 87% | 2015–2020 |
| Enteric-illness-associated outbreaks | 24; 11% | 2015–2020 |
| Outbreaks linked to public water systems | 172; 80% | 2015–2020 |
| Outbreaks linked to individual or private systems | 17; 8% | 2015–2020 |
| Reported illness cases | At least 2,140 | 2015–2020 |
| Hospitalizations | 563; 26% of reported cases | 2015–2020 |
| Deaths | 88; 4% of reported cases | 2015–2020 |
Source: Surveillance of Waterborne Disease Outbreaks Associated with Drinking Water — United States, 2015–2020, CDC MMWR. Reporting was voluntary, and the counts represent reported outbreaks and outcomes.
The outbreak dataset included 454 contributing-factor types; factors were reported for 144 outbreaks and multiple factors could apply to one outbreak. Private water systems were implicated in 944 illness cases, 52 hospitalizations and 14 deaths, representing 43%, 9% and 16% of reported outbreak outcomes respectively.
Enteric-illness-associated outbreaks accounted for 1,299, or 61%, of all reported illnesses. Norovirus, Shigella, Campylobacter or multiple etiologies including those pathogens accounted for 1,225, or 94%, of reported enteric illnesses.
Groundwater sources accounted for 82, or 38%, of reported outbreaks, while surface-water sources accounted for 57, or 27%. Source was unknown for 61 outbreaks, so these shares do not sum to 100%.
Public Drinking-Water Systems and Infrastructure Needs
EPA’s seventh Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment projects a $625 billion U.S. drinking-water infrastructure need over 20 years. This is projected need, not spending already completed, and it was 32% higher than the sixth DWINSA estimate of $472.6 billion.
| Projected category in seventh DWINSA | 20-year need |
|---|---|
| Distribution and transmission | $422.9 billion |
| Treatment | $107 billion |
| Storage | $56.1 billion |
| Source infrastructure | $25.2 billion |
| Total drinking-water need | $625 billion |
Source: EPA’s 7th Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment, EPA. Categories are projected eligible infrastructure needs, not completed expenditures.
Distribution and transmission therefore represent the largest stated category in the assessment, at $422.9 billion, while treatment represents $107 billion. Source infrastructure covers intakes, wells and water rights.
EPA also projected 9.2 million lead service lines nationally. The count is based on survey information and extrapolation, so it may improve as inventories are completed rather than representing a finished inventory.
For Tribal systems, EPA estimated that existing drinking-water infrastructure needs exceed $4 billion over the next 20 years. That is a projected Tribal need under the DWINSA eligibility framework, not completed investment.