NSW Education Sites2See

Water education

Clean, fresh drinking water is essential to life. Humans use water in agriculture, industry, recreation, hygiene and perhaps most importantly, for drinking.

Water as a human right

Because access to clean water is a basic human need, it is considered a fundamental  human right. Link to World Health Organisation

Not everyone in the world can turn on a tap in their kitchen for a glass of water. Use the World Bank's Online Atlas of the Millennium Development Goals to see how many people in different countries can access clean, safe drinking water. Photo left by Pierre Holz

Learn about the challenges in securing safe water in the Asia-Pacific.

Read about government aid programs, through AusAID, and from non-government organisations such as WWF – Australia, designed to help secure global equality of access to water and sanitation.

Water management

A series of four images showing water: rain, droplets on a leaf, running tap, water filtration. Click for more information about these images.

Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth. Learn about long-term plans for securing water supplies from the Australian and NSW Governments.

Discover the scientific challenges associated with water management in Australia. Learn about the water issues facing the Riverina of NSW.

Water management issues are not unique to Australia. Find out about global fresh water issues and explore interactive maps on food and water.

Explore the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme as one approach to water management.

Water consumption

Watch global consumption of water tick over with this water consumption meter. Find out how much water it takes to produce some common foods and drinks.

Think you know about water consumption? Try this water quiz. Explore the ABC Splash page on water to prepare.

Find out why there is a huge bottled water industry, even in countries that have 100% access to clean tap water.

Teacher resources

The Geography Teachers’ Association has a range of resources to support teaching and learning about water in Geography.

The geology.com website (US) has classroom activities, lesson plans and worksheets for water education. Find more resources for secondary teachers at Sydney Water.

Syllabus links