III 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 478 

Supporting the goals and ideals of ‘‘World Water Day’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 10, 2008 

Mr. SMITH (for himself and Mr. KERRY) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

MARCH 31 (legislative day, MARCH 13), 2008 

Committee discharged; considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of ‘‘World Water Day’’. 

Whereas the United Nations General Assembly, via resolution, has designated March 22 of each year as World 

Water Day; 

Whereas a person needs 4 to 5 liters of water per day to survive; 

Whereas a person can live weeks without food, but only days 

without water; 

Whereas every 15 seconds a child dies from a water-borne 

disease; 

Whereas, for children under age 5, water-borne diseases are 

the leading cause of death; 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with BILLS
2 

SRES 478 ATS 

Whereas millions of women and children spend several hours 

a day collecting water from distant, often polluted 

sources; 

Whereas every dollar spent on water and sanitation saves on 

average $9 in costs averted and productivity gained; 

Whereas, at any given time, 1⁄2 of the world’s hospital beds 

are occupied by patients suffering from a water-borne 

disease; 

Whereas 88 percent of all diseases are caused by unsafe 

drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene; 

Whereas 1,100,000,000 (1 in 6) people lack access to an improved water supply; 

Whereas 2,600,000,000 people in the world lack access to improved sanitation; 

Whereas the global celebration of World Water Day is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro; 

Whereas the participants in the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, including the 

United States, agreed to the Plan of Implementation 

which included an agreement to work to reduce by 1⁄2

from the baseline year 1990 ‘‘the proportion of people 

who are unable to reach or to afford safe drinking 

water’’, ‘‘and the proportion of people without access to 

basic sanitation’’ by 2015; and 

Whereas Congress passed and the President signed into law 

the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 

(Public Law 109–121), which was intended to ‘‘elevate 

the role of water and sanitation policy in the development 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with BILLS
3 

SRES 478 ATS 

of U.S. foreign policy and improve the effectiveness of 

U.S. official programs’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) supports the goals and ideals of ‘‘World 

3 Water Day’’; 

4 (2) urges an increased effort and the invest5 ment of greater resources by the Department of 

6 State, the United States Agency for International 

7 Development, and all relevant Federal departments 

8 and agencies toward providing sustainable and equi9 table access to safe drinking water and sanitation 

10 for the poor and the very poor; and 

11 (3) encourages the people of the United States 

12 to observe the week with appropriate activities that 

13 promote awareness of the importance of access to 

14 clean water. 

Æ 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with BILLS