Project Profile: Water Security for Resilient Economic Growth and Stability (Be Secure)

In rapidly growing cities in the Philippines—where less than 10 percent of the population is connected to sewage systems—water resources are under threat from huge volumes of untreated waste. Outside of Manila, the connection rate is even lower—only 3 percent. Untreated wastewater is alarmingly discharged into bodies of water, polluting streams, lakes, rivers and even aquifers. Clean water is becoming scarce and highly valued especially in times of drought. To address these challenges and increase access to improved sanitation facilities, USAID launched the Water Security for Resilient Economic Growth and Stability (Be Secure) Project in 2013 to work with local governments and water utilities in six cities across the Philippines. This project profile appears in the USAID Global Water and Development Report.