Dysentery and typhoid may not strike Americans at home due to untreated water, but lead in water distribution pipes has become a concern from Flint, Mich., to communities in the Miami Valley.
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Other key facts about the World Water Day from the United Nations and World Health Organization include:
Many at risk: 663 million people still lack improved drinking water sources
Demand will grow: By 2030, global demand for water is expected to grow 50 percent.
Lack of infrastructure: By 2050, close to 70 percent of the world's population will live in cities, compared to 50 percent today. Currently most cities in developing countries do not have adequate infrastructure and resources to address wastewater management efficiently.
Food processing plants, paper mills and others in the region all rely on water pumped from the Great Miami Valley Buried Aquifer.
Industrial water consumption accounts for 22 percent of global water use. In Europe and North America, consumption by industry rises to 50 percent, according to the UN.
Food giants Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill with local operations depend on the water, as well as other companies like Vandalia's Crown Solutions, part of Paris-based Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies, and Appvion, formerly Appleton Paper, in West Carrollton.
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In Trenton, the MillerCoors brewery pulls about three barrels of water from the aquifer for every barrel of beer. In 2015, the brewer said its Water Reclamation Center treated 1.8 million gallons per day of process waste water and returned clean water to the environment.
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Due to a number of factors including geography and climate, the Miami Valley has an abundant supply of water. While sometimes threatened, steps have been taken over the years to protect the vital resource.
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Here are some key facts about the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer:
Primary source of drinking water: About 97 percent of the 1.6 million people in the Great Miami River basin depend on the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer for drinking water, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Vast underground reservoir: The aquifer is a three-trillion-gallon reservoir created through tens of thousands of years of glacial activity. The water is contained in spaces between enormous sand and gravel beds that stretch from Logan and Shelby counties in the north, hewing toward the middle of the Great Miami River watershed all the way to the Ohio River.
High volume: United States Geological Survey reports show the aquifer to be one of the most productive sources of clean water in the Midwest, with some wells able to pump 3,000 gallons a minute.
Credit: Chris Stewart
Credit: Chris Stewart
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