About
The Just Water Alliance is a global collective of custodians, researchers, advocates, and practitioners united by a shared mission: to ensure equitable access to water for all communities. Our work centers on amplifying transformative stories and fostering justice that strengthens connections between people, water, land, and the living world. Founded in June 2024 on Ngunnawal Country in Canberra, Australia, the Alliance emerged from the powerful exchange of experiences and insights during the Sharing, Listening, Reflecting, and Creating workshop. This collaboration inspired an ongoing commitment to reimagine systems, confront imbalances of power, and promote solutions tailored to the unique needs of diverse communities. Guided by respect for Indigenous leadership, environmental health, and the transformative power of stories, we take a holistic approach to addressing water justice. We work across disciplines, engage globally and locally, and continuously evolve through learning and collaboration. Join us in creating a future where access to safe, just water is a reality for everyone. Together, we can transform systems, empower communities, and ensure water justice for generations to come.
Event
Event
Water Justice Day
Date: 31 January 2025
Venue: National Museum, Canberra, Australia
Research
Remote Australians lack access to quality drinking water
New research into the impact of poor water quality in remote and regional areas of Australia highlights the gaps in drinking water guidelines. Australians in more than 400 remote or regional communities lack access to good-quality drinking water, while about eight per cent of Australia’s population is not included in reporting on access to clean water.
Lead author of a peer-reviewed paper published in Nature Partner Journal Clean Water, Dr Paul Wyrwoll said their research also shows Australia’s national reporting of drinking water quality is not fit-for-purpose. “Our national statistics misrepresent the challenges facing households and water service providers across regional and remote Australia.”
Image (right): Research Fellow at the ANU Institute for Water Futures Dr Paul Wyrwoll. Photo: Jamie Kidston/ANU
Telling a ‘Tale of Two Rivers’
The world is at a crossroads and desperately needs pathways towards a safer and more just water future. Climate change; the need for rising food production; rapidly rising incomes that increase water consumption; water governance failures; and inequality (especially water access and influence with decision-makers) are contributing on-going declines of the world’s rivers. On World Rivers Day, a group of researchers, artists, and Traditional Owners have come together to share their collective wisdom of two Australian river systems, Baaka & Martuwarra.
The paper ‘A Tale of Two Rivers’ , tells the story of Baaka and Martuwarra in multiple ways and across different knowledges. It tells of two rivers, guided by Traditional Owners, and pathways to restoring and to protecting these ancient systems, as well as to respond to water injustices of the Baaka and Martuwarra.
Read a summary of the paper here.
Image (right): Flows of Water Justice. (Artwork supplied by Glenn Loughrey and final design by Dan Schulz. From Bates et al, 2003.)
