Anthropologist Sera Young and team aim to show people can experience hardships even in water-rich areas

At the UN’s 2023 Water Conference in March, Northwestern Anthropologist Sera Young presented on the Water Insecurity Experiences Scales (WISE Scales), a more accurate tool for collecting data on water insecurity than current water indicators. Young developed these survey instruments in collaboration with an interdisciplinary research network of scholars and practitioners.

Since the group’s first paper was published in 2019, at least 60 countries have begun using the WISE Scales to provide valuable data to leaders and policymakers.

Prior to the development of the WISE Scales, water insecurity measures focused on the visible aspects of water such as the physical presence of a well or water infrastructure within a household.

Young and her team aim to show that people can experience water hardships even when they live in water-rich areas or have a faucet in their house.

“To more accurately understand water insecurity, we need to know if humans have reliably sufficient water for basic domestic needs, including for drinking and hygiene.”

Estimates show an estimated 2 billion people in the world lack access to clean water, and climate change is worsening the crisis.

“Water issues are disrupting at the micro-level and at macro-levels. Within households, there is evidence that interpersonal violence increases with water issues. There is also more social friction — frustration about who retrieves the water, and who gets to use the water in the household.” – Sera Young, Associate Professor of Anthropology

Northwestern Now spoke with Young about a recent breakthrough in tackling water insecurity in Latin America, how access to clean water fits into the broader issue of a nation’s stability and what inspires her to keep pushing for a holistic view of water availability.

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