While the World Water Week 2024 conference is set to be held in Stockholm, Sweden, the week of Aug. 25, a U.S. agency that seeks to reduce poverty, increase opportunity and economic security for individuals and families, and revitalize communities has scheduled World Water Week programs online from Aug. 26 through Aug. 30.

Held in Stockholm since 1991, the World Water Week conference on global water issues is a non-profit event held by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). The conference’s goals are to develop solutions to the world’s most significant water-related challenges, with topics ranging from food security and health to agriculture, technology, biodiversity, and the climate crisis, SIWI says. 

The World Water Week program is co-created with leading international organizations to highlight a broad range of water-related topics, focus on the latest trends, and give access to insights from many different fields. Available online, the conference is free and attracts participants from various professional backgrounds around the world, according to SIWI.

Within the U.S., the Office of Community Services (OCS), a sub-agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has scheduled online programs for World Water Week that discuss efforts to increase low-income households’ access to water and wastewater services.

The OCS programs are to provide details on efforts to address the barriers that prevent families and communities from accessing water systems. OCS program starts with a panel discussion on Aug. 26, 2024, and continues through Aug. 30 with an article, fact sheets, a blog, and a video. 

The World Water Week schedule includes:

• Aug. 26, OCS starts World Water Week 2024 with a discussion on “Understanding Water Affordability,” in which panelists from municipalities, agencies, and associations that have been working in different capacities across the country to advance water affordability will share their insights on water affordability data and discuss various water affordability initiatives.

• Aug. 27 continues OCS’ observance of World Water Week by issuing an interactive article by the Rural Community Development (RDC) program. The article is focused on providing flexible assistance to rural communities and highlights how water needs are being met and the impact that the program is having.

• Aug. 28 focuses on the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) and a one-page fact sheet that describes its impact nationally and on states, territories, and tribal regions.

• Aug. 29 features an examination of how tribal communities leverage OCS and HHS resources to improve the well-being of tribal members. That includes OCS releasing a blog featuring the work of the Tohono O’odham Utility Authority, which provides utility services to residents of the Tohono O’odham Nation in Arizona, and an updated LIHWAP one-page fact sheet that highlights ways access to safe and affordable water and wastewater systems are being increased in Native communities.

• On Aug. 30, OCS spotlighted a new video that recognizes a community's efforts to leverage LIHWAP programs. The video, “LIHWAP and Atlanta: A Partnership for Affordable Water,” details how LIHWAP, local community action agencies, and the city’s water service providers collaborated to quickly and broadly implement water assistance programs.

Register for the SIWI World Water Week conference or the OCS World Water Week events.