ABSTRACT
Water is an essential requirement of life itself. Any attempt to codify fundamental human rights which lacked a statement of a right to water (and food) would be seriously flawed; any state which purports to respect human rights has a duty to ensure that its citizens have access to water, sufficient in both quality and quantity, to meet their physiological needs. In a sub-Saharan African state, that duty will consist primarily of ensuring access to vitally adequate resources, especially in periods of drought. But in all but the most inhospitably arid regions this undeniably ‘environmental’ resource is one which falls from the sky, and therefore prolonged denial of water rarely occurs. In the context of a modern industrial state situated in temperate latitudes, that duty must be discussed in terms of the economic factors which determine the quality of water supplies. Since chemical and biological contamination of water can compromise its use for any purpose, not simply that of human consumption, consideration of a state’s duty cannot omit reference to cleanliness. Among the other purposes, the recreational opportunities afforded by surface and coastal waters are perhaps the most sensitive to pollution.
