Violence around water is on the rise and reached a record last year

In Algeria, water shortages have dried up taps, causing protesters to riot and set tires on fire.

In Gaza, as people waited for water at a community tap, an Israeli drone fired on them, killing eight people.

In Ukraine, Russian rockets hit the country’s largest dam, triggering a plume of fire over the hydroelectric plant and causing widespread power outages.

These are some of the 420 water conflict researchers documented for 2024 in the latest Pacific Institute study update. Timeline of water conflictsa global database on water-related violence.

The year saw a record number of violent incidents over water worldwide, far surpassing the 355 recorded in 2023, continuing a sharp upward trend. Violence has more than quadrupled in the past five years.

New data from the Oakland-based water think tank also shows that drinking water wells, pipes and dams are increasingly under attack.

“In almost every region of the world, there are increasing reports of water-related violence,” said Peter Gleick, co-founder and senior fellow at the Pacific Institute, and this “underscores the urgent need for international attention.”

Researchers collect information from news reports and other sources and accounts. They classify it into three categories: cases in which water was a trigger for violence, water systems were targeted, and water was a “victim” of violence, for example when shell fragments hit a water tank.

Not all cases involve injury or death, but often they do.

The region with the most violent incidents is the Middle East, with 138 incidents reported. This included 66 people in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, both in Gaza and the West Bank.

In the West Bank, there are widespread reports of Israeli settlers destroying water pipes and reservoirs and attacking Palestinian farmers.

In Gaza, the Israeli army destroyed more than 30 wells in the southern towns of Rafah and Khan Younis.

Gleick pointed out that when the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants For Israeli and Hamas leaders last year, accusing them of crimes against humanity, the accusations pointed to Israeli military attacks on Gaza’s water systems.

“This is a recognition that these attacks constitute violations of international law,” he said. “Enforcement of international laws protecting water systems from attacks should be strengthened. »

Water systems were also frequently targeted during the war between Russia and Ukraine, during which researchers documented 51 violent incidents.

Residents collect water in bottles in Pokrovsk, Ukraine, where repeated Russian bombings have left civilians without functioning infrastructure.

(George Ivanchenko / Associated Press)

Russian strikes have disrupted water services in Ukrainian cities and oil spilled into a river after Russian forces attacked an oil depot.

“These are not water wars. These are wars in which water is used as a weapon or is a casualty of the conflict,” Gleick said.

Researchers have also found that water scarcity and drought are causing an increasing number of violent conflicts.

“Climate change is making these problems worse,” Gleick said.

Many conflicts have taken place in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

In India, residents unhappy with the lack of water attacked a municipal employee.

In Jammu, India, a woman carries a container of drinking water filled with leaking water pipes in March.

(Channi Anand/Associated Press)

In Cameroon, clashes between rice farmers and fishermen left one dead and three injured.

In a refugee camp in Kenya, three people died in a fight over drinking water.

There is an increase in conflicts over irrigation, conflicts between farmers and cities, and violence in places where only some of the water is drinkable.

A man carries jugs to fetch water from a hole in a sandy river bed in Makueni County, Kenya, February 2024.

(Brian Inganga / Associated Press)

Gleick, who has studied water-related violence for more than three decades, said the goal of the list is to raise awareness and encourage policymakers to act to reduce fighting, bloodshed and unrest.

The UN, in its Sustainable development goals, states that every person should have access to water and sanitation.

“Failure to do so is inexcusable and it contributes to a lot of misery,” Gleick said. “It contributes to health problems, cholera, dysentery, typhoid and water-related diseases, and it contributes to conflicts over water. »

In Latin America, dozens of violent water-related incidents took place last year.

In the Mexican state of Veracruz, protesters were block a road to denounce a pork processing plant, which they accused of using too much water and releasing pollution, when police opened fire, killing two men.

In Honduras, environmental activist Juan López, who spoke out in favor of protecting rivers from mining, was shot while leaving church. He is the fourth member of his group to be assassinated.

A man fills containers with water due to a shortage caused by high temperatures and drought in Veracruz, Mexico, June 2024.

(Felix Marquez / Associated Press)

“More attention needs to be paid to this issue, particularly at the international level, but also at the national level,” said Morgan Shimabuku, a senior fellow at the Pacific Institute. “The situation is getting worse and we must reverse the trend. »

Few events have been reported in the United States in recent years. In 2024, cyberattacks occurred against water utilities in Texas and Indiana.

In one, Russian hackers claimed responsibility for tampering with a wastewater treatment plant in Indiana. Authorities said the attack caused minimal disruption. In another case, a pro-Russian hacktivist group manipulated water facility systems by small towns in Texascausing water to overflow.

The Pacific Institute database now lists more than 2,750 conflicts. Most have occurred since 2000. Researchers add incidents from 2025 as well as previous years.

During extreme drought in Iran worsened by climate change, farmers were desperate enough to face security forces, demanding access to river water. Iran’s water crisis, made worse by decades of excessive groundwater pumping, has become so severe that the president said Tehran can no longer remain the capital and the government will have to move it to another city.

Tensions have also increased between Iran and Afghanistan. on the Helmand RiverIranian leaders accusing their upstream neighbor of not letting enough water flow into the country.

Gleick said that if the drought persists and the Iranian government does not improve its water management, “I would expect to see more violence.”