One of the most striking graphics at UB’s conference on how climate change and contaminants affect access to clean water in Asia was a map of the United States.

U.S. counties where higher rates of drinking water violations overlap with higher proportions of people of color were shaded dark blue — making Erie County, home to UB, unfortunately eye-catching.

“Lest you think that this is just an Asian or a low-income country problem … we have about 2 million Americans who live without basic access to [running water and indoor plumbing],” said North Carolina State University engineering professor and global sanitation advocate Francis de los Reyes, who displayed the Natural Resources Defense Council map during his plenary address on April 10. 

Data from the conference, “Climate Change and Emerging Contaminants: Risks and Responses in Asia and Beyond,” underscored that access to clean water in a changing climate isn’t only a challenge in Asia — and that efforts to address water insecurity abroad have clear relevance closer to home.

The two-day event brought together researchers from across the globe studying the interconnected challenges of climate change and emerging contaminants. Rising temperatures can alter the toxicity of contaminants such as pharmaceuticals, microplastics and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), while intensifying storms can spread them through flooding and runoff.

In his opening address Friday morning, Provost A. Scott Weber noted that such challenges “do not respect geographic boundaries.”

“These challenges are already affecting communities across the United States and around the world, and their frequency and severity is only expected to grow. And for this reason, the research findings and lived experiences shared by speakers who have conducted work in Asia are highly relevant to all of us,” Weber said. 

Echoing that point, de los Reyes said that centralized water treatment systems do not make the U.S. impervious to issues from climate change and contaminants. He pointed to Hurricane Helene, which left Asheville, N.C., without drinking water for 53 days.

“When flooding happens, especially for a centralized infrastructure like that, a lot of people are affected,” he said, adding, “When everything is flooded, fecal contamination, industrial chemicals and all kinds of things are going to be in that soup.”

Nations with decentralized systems, including low-income ones in Asia, are even more vulnerable. Only about 73% of the global population has access to safely managed drinking water, according to the World Health Organization. Millions around the world still collect untreated water themselves or depend on tanker deliveries that may arrive only every few days or weeks.

The problems are even worse for safely managed sanitation. Roughly half the global population does not have a toilet at home that properly treats or disposes of waste, which can lead to spread of disease.

Much research at the conference focused on the Philippines, where it’s estimated about 33% of households don’t have access to running water and which has faced worsening typhoons in recent years. 

Addressing the conference via video was former Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo — now mayor of Naga City, where she is prioritizing climate-resistant infrastructure and green energy. She said communities that bear the highest burden of climate change and environmental exposure are inevitably those with the least power to demand protection and least access to care if they fall sick.

“Thus, the wealth of knowledge and expertise on these matters must travel across sectors and territories,” Robredo said. “What we need is the kind of collaboration that this conference represents. Scientists and policymakers, researchers and practitioners, those who measure the problem and those who live inside it, working together toward enduring solutions.”

Several UB researchers spoke about their work in the Philippines, including Martha Bohm, associate professor of architecture. Bohm is a co-principal investigator on a UB RENEW Institute project to design climate-resistant buildings.

She noted the challenges of designing building features tailored to specific regions, pointing to government-issued, 4,000-liter rainwater tanks in Manila, where urban density could force such tanks onto roofs.

“We need to think about that as a structural load on the building and consider this as an area prone to earthquakes,” Bohm said. “So it’s important to think about this water not just in the abstract, but as a physical material in space.”

Joshua Miller, assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, discussed his work on a Lancet Commission report on Filipino youth aged 10–24. The yearslong survey documents their health challenges, including how they access drinking water.

Miller noted that many youths prefer bottled water or purchasing water from refilling stations on the street rather than using piped water — despite comparable quality and a lack of purity standards at some refilling stations.

While centralized water systems are often seen as the gold standard, he said, not all communities can build such systems in the near term and interim solutions are needed.

“To develop a centralized water system either takes huge political will or a lot of investment, and in the absence of that, we can’t just say communities don’t get safe water,” he said.

The conference was organized by UB’s Asia Research Institute, RENEW Institute, Office of Global Health Initiatives and the Center for Climate Change and Health Equity.