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For most cultures around the world, the river is the birthplace of civilisations; water is the herald of life. But a UN report published on 20 January 2026 has declared that we now live in an era of Water Bankruptcy.
The report shows that “more than half the world’s large lakes have declined since the early 1990s, while around 35 per cent of natural wetlands have been lost since 1970”. The withdrawal and pollution of water beyond safe limits have damaged key water-related natural capital to the point that the refilling of water basins is impeded, if not already eliminated.
This is not normal, nor should it be treated as inevitable. It is the voiceless and vulnerable – the poor, the animals, plants and future generations that bear the brunt of the consequences. Small holder farmers, indigenous peoples, low-income urban residents, women and youth face persistent clean water shortages that trickle into dire consequences. Livelihoods are lost, water-related diseases rise, and desertification spreads.
For Singaporeans, the global water crisis seems like a distant problem. Long past was the time the Singapore government imposed water rationing nationwide in the early 1960s during a long drought. Today, despite our overall water consumption rising more than six-fold, water needs are met. That is in part thanks to the decades-long effort by the Public Utilities Board (PUB) to strengthen Singapore’s ‘Four National Taps’ – comprising water from local catchment, imported water, NEWater, and desalinated water.
But does this imply that this global state of water bankruptcy is ‘not our problem’?
Catholic Social Teaching emphasises the Catholic Church’s long-standing moral commitments to solidarity and a preferential option for the poor. As both a Catholic and a Singaporean, we can be less indifferent to the problem of world water bankruptcy – after all, we are the ones consuming water (and are we consuming only what we need?)
Here are just three examples to easily adopt into our consciousness or daily living, and begin the journey towards fighting water bankruptcy.
1. ACKNOWLEDGE that many of the products we consume require enormous amounts of water – more than we are aware of.
3,780-10,000 litres of water is required to produce a single pair of jeans, primarily driven by the need to irrigate vast fields of cotton crops, which has over time, emptied the Aral Sea in Central Asia.
177,300 litres of water is required on average to produce one car.
Meat production is also highly water-intensive, with beef requiring an estimated 15,000 litres per kg.
Want to examine more closely our hidden water footprint of our consumption of various commodities? Start here: Water Footprint Assessment Tool.
2. GET INVOLVED by supporting water and sanitation humanitarian projects.
This includes supporting the poor in the construction of safe drinking water and proper, dignified sanitation. Importantly, empower locals in community-led projects to install and maintain water wells, water tanks, rainwater catchment areas, and waste management, particularly in high climate risk areas like refugee camps, rural poor and disaster-prone areas. Also support the cleaning of and advocacy for clean waterways and reservoirs, which often directly supports the health and needs of downstream communities.
3. PRACTISE GRATITUDE for the energy-intensive process and large, extensive infrastructure that enables Singapore to be water secure today. Through this, we can reduce unnecessary wasteful habits – reduce shower time, replace water-hungry lawns – there are ways to do this in our everyday.
The work may seem arduous but it must begin somewhere.
Perhaps in this last week of Lent, a simpler way is to try fasting from water or from water-intensive foods (such as meat) for 12-hours – that’s how water-deprived communities around the world feel.
Can we reduce our water footprint, together?