22nd March marks World Water Day. It’s a day dedicated to helping people around the world understand just how precious water is and the injustice of how it’s distributed. Whilst most of us can turn on a tap and get clean drinking water easily, billions of people worldwide don’t have this luxury.
World Water Day is celebrated to help bring awareness to water issues around the world. It asks communities, businesses, charities, and governments to consider how we use water, how we value water, and how we can collectively ensure everyone has access to clean water. Here at Water Refill Group, World Water Day means a lot to us. Everything we do every day is driven by our desire to provide accessible drinking water for everyone.
History of World Water Day
Back in 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development took place in Rio de Janeiro. This meeting led to the creation of World Water Day in 1993, when the UN decided we needed a day every year dedicated to freshwater. The day was created to raise awareness and inspire action to make sure we can enjoy and use water sustainably for generations to come.
Today, World Water Day provides a platform for organisations, governments, charities, and local communities to come together and help promote understanding of water related issues. Each year we learn about different themes affecting the world’s water supplies and how we can help. Whether that be water scarcity, pollution, sanitation, education, hygiene, or climate change. World Water Day is about working together to help keep our water clean, free flowing and accessible to all.
World Water Day 2026
The theme for World Water Day 2026 is Water, Women & Gender Equality. Did you know that women and girls around the world are disproportionately affected by the lack of available safe water and sanitation?
In many communities across the world, women and girls are responsible for collecting water for their families. Many have to walk miles to a local water source. Think about spending your day walking miles to collect water. When you consider the amount of time and effort some women and girls around the world have to spend collecting water, it limits their chances of education, work or other opportunities. Not having access to safe water and toilets can affect women and girls’ health, dignity and safety. This World Water Day we want to inspire change by highlighting the need for inclusive and equitable solutions.
Water services must withstand climate change and meet everyone’s needs. We need a transformative, rights-based approach to solving the water crisis, where women’s voices, leadership and agency are fully recognized. Where water flows, equality grows. When women and girls are included in water-related decisions, solutions become more inclusive, sustainable, and effective. By investing in women’s leadership, we can harness water as a driver for a healthier, more prosperous, and gender-equal future that benefits everyone.
Why Does World Water Day Matter to Us?
At Water Refill Group, we want to help tackle water inequality wherever we can. From installing drinking water pumps, to spreading awareness of how easy it is to live without single-use plastic bottled water. Even though we help improve access to drinking water one install at a time. There are still people across the world who struggle to access safe drinking water. That’s why we support charities such as Water Aid. WaterAid is a charity that works globally to provide clean water, sanitation, and hygiene education to millions of vulnerable people. They don’t just provide water and toilets, but long-term sustainable systems that can support communities for years to come.
By supporting charities such as WaterAid, we can help provide clean drinking water for communities and families around the world.
“World Water Day is a powerful reminder that access to clean drinking water should never be a privilege, but a basic human right. At Water Refill Group, it drives everything we do - from raising awareness to supporting charities like WaterAid - because every refill, every installation, and every action brings us one step closer to a world where clean water is accessible to all.” – Mark & Nic, Co-Founders.
How you can help
Just like us, you can do your bit to help tackle water inequality across the world. Whether it’s making small changes in your everyday routines, supporting organisations or raising awareness - every action matters.
By donating to charities such as WaterAid, you can directly support projects that bring clean water to those who need it most.
Water Refill Group shares that mission with our portfolio of Elkay indoor and outdoor bottle filling stations, providing access to clean drinking water in the workplace, public venues and your community.
