We are here to address the water crisis that is impacting so much of the world. 1.2 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water . . . More than 2 billion people are without even rudimentary water sanitation[1] . . . And population trends suggest strong growth in both of these very serious problems.[2]

According to one estimate, meeting the need for safe water alone will require over four hundred thousand new service connections per day for the next 25 years. That's about one new connection every 4½ seconds for the next generation.[3]

In short, people in many parts of the world simply don't have enough fresh water. Today I will share with you some ideas for ways to change the current paradigm and create sustainable development.

We in industry have a responsibility to act, because water is the precious commodity that can determine both the health of individuals and the wealth of nations. How a country manages its fresh water and wastewater can mean the difference between prosperity and decline.[4]

Economic growth - and in particular, industrial growth - are essential to improving quality of life, especially for the women, children and men who live in developing countries. But growth can have unintended consequences . . . Especially environmental degradation and the depletion of water resources.

Our challenge is to break the link between economic growth and environmental damage, and the goal of this workshop is to point the way.

It is possible to achieve sustainable development while safeguarding the environment and the people who live in it. As a global provider of water management systems, we at ITT Industries have seen it first-hand

• In Senegal, where engineers in Dakar are using a new pump design to make electrical power more reliable . . . And more affordable.[5]
• In Siberia, where new fluid technologies and old-fashioned know-how are minimizing the environmental impact of waste produced by a Russian smelter.[6]
• " And in Shanghai, where the economic and environmental benefits of a new subway are being realized with the help of reliable, cost-effective pumps.[7]