Good water quality in our rivers, lakes and groundwaters is critical for sustainable development and global health in terms of providing basic services and enabling economic activities. Understanding ambient water quality facilitates an evaluation of the impact of socioeconomic development on the quality of our freshwater over time and provides an indication of the services that can be obtained from aquatic ecosystems, such as clean water for drinking, preserved biodiversity, sustainable fisheries and water for irrigation. Monitoring water quality also enables us to understand where water quality is under pressure and where it remains in its natural state. It provides decision makers with information on where best to direct resources to reduce pollution, and it provides a measure of the success of pollution prevention and mitigation strategies.
Indicator 6.3.2 provides a universal standard for measuring national capacity for water-quality monitoring. It highlights deficits in water-quality monitoring capacity at the national and subnational level; this information can then be used to target capacity development strategies.