News, Press & Perspectives

Find the latest news and press releases about our work in the water and sanitation sector below. 

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Water.org and Founding Partners Launch Get Blue™ to Bring Water Home™ Through Everyday Actions

June 9, 2026

Join Get Blue™, co-founded by Water.org’s Matt Damon and Gary White, and partners Gap Inc., Starbucks, Amazon, and Ecolab to shop, share, and donate to help end the global water crisis.

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The TODAY Show - Matt Damon, Gary White Talk Global Water Crisis and Solutions

June 9, 2026

Water.org co-founders Gary White and Matt Damon joined the TODAY Show to talk about Get Blue and why bringing safe water home for families around the world is within reach. "It's a massive problem but we have solutions," Damon says. Five dollars helps one person get lasting access to safe water or sanitation.

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TIME - Water Will Be the Defining Business Issue of the Decade

Jan. 23, 2026

Water shapes how people spend their time, the choices available to them, and their ability to participate in community and economic life. For the estimated 2.1 billion people who lack access to safe water and the 3.4 billion who lack access to safe sanitation, water dictates everything.

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TIME - Vedika Bhandarkar Believes We Can Solve the Water Crisis in Our Lifetime

May 1, 2025

TIME profiles Water.org President & COO Vedika Bhandarkar as part of Gold House’s A100 List, honoring the most impactful Asian Pacific leaders. Drawing on her 25-year career in finance, Vedika is helping unlock capital and scale smart solutions to accelerate access to safe water and sanitation, driving progress toward a world where everyone everywhere has the resources they need to thrive.

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NextBillion - The Keys to Successful Blue Bonds: How Peru’s Strong Local Lending Systems Are Expanding Water and Sanitation Access

May 26, 2026

For millions of families safe water solutions exist and are within reach — what's missing is affordable financing to pay for them. Water.org's Rocio Cavazos explains how two blue bond issuances are closing that gap for people in need in Peru, and what it took to build the lending systems that made them possible.

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A cyclist and a horse-cart carriage pass each other in a flooded area after heavy rain caused a river overflow, submerging scores of homes in Bandung, Indonesia on March 16, 2025. Timur Matahari—AFP/Getty Images
TIME - The Key to Solving the Global Water Crisis

March 22, 2025

The global water crisis is one of the most urgent and complex challenges facing humanity today. More than 2.2 billion people lack access to safe water, and 3.5 billion lack access to safely managed sanitation. This crisis undermines health and safety, education, and economic opportunity.

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CNN Heroes 2020

Dec. 13, 2020

Water.org is featured on "CNN Heroes: An All Star Tribute," highlighting eight organizations that are changing lives and making the world a better place.

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Global Heroes - Breaking the Poverty Cycle

Dec. 1, 2020

Water.org co-founder Matt Damon talks about the power of water to change lives.

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SIWI Water Day - Vision of a zero-carbon, resilient future through water

Nov. 12, 2020

“The scale of the climate crisis is staggering, but you can’t let that be an excuse for not acting.” Water.org co-founder, Matt Damon, and Chief Global Impact Officer, Vedika Bhandarkar, each shared a message in the opening remarks of Water Day on November 12th, presented by SIWI.

Watch here
Milken Institute - To Solve the Water Crisis, We Must Rethink the Way We Invest

Nov. 11, 2020

Co-founders Gary White and Matt Damon share how WaterEquity has continued to expand and scale during COVID-19, empowering people with access to safe water and sanitation, while also providing attractive returns to investors.

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Lending for Water and Sanitation During COVID-19

Nov. 5, 2020

"We expect the increased awareness of how a lack of access to water and sanitation can not only be inconvenient, but life-threatening, to increase client demand for [water and sanitation] improvements." - Jessica Jacobson - Water.org's Senior Manager, Financial Institutions

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Hang out with Water.org co-founder, Matt Damon

Oct. 29, 2020

Want to have lunch with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck? Omaze is offering this opportunity to help support Water.org. You and a guest will be flown out to LA when it's safe to travel for an unforgettable meal with these two actors and friends. Enter to win by January 28, 2021.

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Pacific Institute - Financing Water Supply and Sanitation in a Changing Climate

Oct. 22, 2020

Smart investments in water supply and sanitation can benefit both the climate and those living in poverty, finds a new report from the Pacific Institute and Water.org. Read the announcement here.

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Hilton Effect Foundation Reveals 2020 Grants

Oct. 22, 2020

Water.org was named one of The Hilton Effect Foundation's 2020 Hilton Effect grantees, which included organizations playing a direct role in COVID-19 pandemic recovery efforts.

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Brave Blue World Documentary Film Available on Netflix on October 21

Oct. 21, 2020

Featuring Matt Damon, Gary White, Jaden Smith and other pioneers in the water sector, the Brave Blue World documentary paints an optimistic picture of how humanity is adopting new technologies and innovations to re-think how we manage water.

Watch the trailer
Ecolab Partners With Water.org to Improve Access to Clean, Safe, Sustainable Water

Oct. 21, 2020

On the sixth annual Imagine a Day Without Water, Ecolab announced a partnership with Water.org to help enable access to sustainable water and improved sanitation for 100,000 people in at-risk watersheds in India.

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Reckitt Benckiser Group Provides Sh70 Million In Fight Against Covid-19

Oct. 14, 2020

Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB) is providing 70 million Kenya shillings (about $650,000 USD) to Water.org which will enable affordable financing for water and sanitation solutions to about 10,000 households in Kenya.

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Social Investor - Gary White: On Water and Lessons from COVID-19

Oct. 13, 2020

"I have been working in the water industry for a long time, but I have never seen so much global attention being placed on the importance of water, sanitation, and hygiene as it has in the past few months. The pandemic has made clear that water is basic “PPE”."

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