SDG 6.1
Safe drinking water for all
Universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water. Currently, 2.2 billion people are without it.
Why Water Matters
global water access statistics, SDG targets, and the HydraOffset municipal water programme
2.2 billion
people around the world still lack access to safely
managed drinking water
1 in 4
people globally without safe water — including 106 million relying on untreated surface sources
3.4B
people without safely managed sanitation, including 354 million practising open defecation
30-60%
of treated water is lost to leakage before it reaches people who need it in many developing cities
2049
the year the world reaches sustainable water management at the current rate of progress — 19 years late
SDG 6 — Clean water and sanitation
The global targets we are working toward
Sustainable Development Goal 6 calls for clean water and sanitation for all by 2030. Progress is severely off track. Achieving universal coverage now requires a sixfold increase in the current rate of progress on drinking water.
SDG 6.3
Improve water quality
Halve the proportion of untreated wastewater. Only 56% of domestic wastewater is safely treated today.
SDG 6.4
Water-use efficiency
Substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors. Non-Revenue Water reduction is the fastest lever.
SDG 6.5
Integrated water management
Implement IWRM at all levels. Global IWRM score stands at 57% — far short of the 91–100% target for 2030.
The Gap
The progress being made — and what remains
Significant organisations are working to address the water crisis. But even combined, the effort leaves a vast gap that demands more partners, more capital, and more engineering capacity.
1,000
1,000
200
Project Reach by 2030 (Millions)
- Project Gap
- Water Forward Program (World Bank)
- Water.org Get Blue 2030 Target
Even the most optimistic projections leave over 1.5 billion people without safely managed drinking water by 2030. The gap is not a failure of will — it is a shortage of engineering implementation capacity, local infrastructure partners, and capital deployed at the right scale.
HydraLink Corporate Water Offset Program (CWOP)
Our mission: reduce the number of people without continuous water supply
HydraLink's Corporate Water Offset Program is built on principles that have proven to provide sustainable water supply solutions that last. We're bridging the gap between communities that don't have access to continuous and sustainable supply of clean drinking water with support and financing to invest in their own needs. HydraLink brings engineering and project management expertise to the table. The community brings knowledge of their own system, their own needs, and their own willingness to invest. Together, we engineer solutions that work.
Practice shows that local communities are willing to take out loans for solutions they truly believe will work – not something brought onto them by external institutions. This is precisely the model that has worked in microfinance-based water access (Water.org), farmer-led irrigation efficiency (Kilimo), and community-managed utilities worldwide. CWOP applies the same principle at the municipal and utility infrastructure level.
Corporations with water stewardship commitments are partners to communities we serve. Forging global cooperation in water management from the start. In World Bank's Water Compact countries, this capital can unlock Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) co-financing at 3–10x the original contribution. The corporate client's basin-level water exposure is connected directly to the community where the impact is felt.
HydraOffset™
Our mission: reduce the number of people without continuous water supply
The world's water access problem is not primarily a supply problem. The water exists. The infrastructure loses it before it reaches the people who need it. Globally, 30–60% of treated municipal water is lost to leakage, illegal connections, and ageing distribution systems — never reaching a tap.
HydraLink's mission is simple: partner with municipalities globally to fix the infrastructure that wastes the water, and connect that recovered supply directly to the communities that need it. We measure impact not in cubic metres — but in people who now have water.
What we work on
Non-Revenue Water reduction is one pathway – fixing the infrastructure that loses treated water before it reaches people. But it is not the only one. Depending on what communities identify as their most urgent need, CWOP programs may include:
- Reducing water loss through leak detection, pipe rehabilitation, and pressure management (NRW reduction)
- Developing local water supply solutions – boreholes, rainwater harvesting, small-scale treatment, spring protection – that communities have chosen and are prepared to maintain
- Extending distribution networks to underserved areas where households are willing to connect and contribute
- Improving water storage and seasonal resilience infrastructure for communities facing drought or intermittent supply
- Supporting community-managed utilities to operate more efficiently and serve more people sustainably
How CWOP works – the five steps
| Step | WHO | WHAT HAPPENS | THE PRINCIPLE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Community first | We begin by listening. What does the community identify as the barrier to continuous water access? What solutions have they seen work nearby? What are they willing to invest in, manage, and maintain? The answer shapes everything that follows. | Community ownership from day one |
| 2 | Local + external expertise | HydraLink engineers work alongside local technicians, community leaders, and municipal staff. We provide hydraulic modelling, system design, and engineering standards. The community provides ground truth, local knowledge, and ownership of the outcome. | External expertise in service of local decisions |
| 3 | Corporate capital is the bridge | Corporations with water stewardship commitments have access to fund the program and bankable projects that not only look good on paper but provide sustainable water access to real people. | Private capital multiplied by MDB financing deployed at the right scale |
| 4 | Solutions communities choose | We do not arrive with a predetermined answer. Engineering options are presented, trade-offs explained, and the community decides. When people take out a loan or co-invest in a solution, it is because they believe it will work — and that belief is the strongest guarantee of long-term maintenance and success. | Community-selected solutions have the highest durability |
| 5 | Impact measured in people | Every program is measured in one unit: how many people now have continuous access to adequate clean water who did not before. Not cubic metres. Not litres per capita. People with water. | The metric that connects water stewardship and human rights |
How HydraOffset works
Corporate clients fund
Organisations with water stewardship commitments channel capital into municipal water offset programmes through HydraLink.
HydraLink scopes and engineers
Hydraulic modelling, NRW analysis, and network assessment produce a detailed implementation plan — scoped for the municipality to execute with engineering-grade precision.
Municipalities implement
Pipes are fixed, pressure zones rehabilitated, distribution extended to underserved areas. Infrastructure that is repaired stays repaired.
Communities receive water
Previously intermittent or absent supply becomes continuous. We count the impact in one unit: people with restored water access.
Impact is verified
Auditable reports structured for ESRS E3, CDP Water Security, and SDG 6 disclosure. Engineering-grade data, not desktop screening.
Get started
We want to hear from you
Whether you are a municipality looking for a technical partner, or a corporation looking to connect your water commitment to real infrastructure — we want to hear from you.
