Violence over water is on the rise, reached a record last year

In Algeria, water shortage the taps remained dry, prompting protesters to riot and set tires on fire.

In the Gaza Strip, while people were waiting for water at a public tap, an Israeli drone fired at them, killing eight people.

In Ukraine, Russian missiles crashed into the country's largest dam, causing plume of fire over a hydroelectric power station and causing massive power outages.

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

This year saw a record number of water violence incidents around the world, far exceeding the 355 in 2023. upward trend. Over the past five years, the level of violence has more than quadrupled.

New data from an Auckland-based water think tank also shows drinking water wells, pipes and dams are increasingly coming under attack.

“Increasing numbers of water-related violence are being reported in virtually every region of the world,” 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 this into three categories: cases where water was the cause of violence, water supplies were the target of attack, and water was the “victim” of violence, such as when shell fragments hit a water tank.

Not every case involves injury or death, but many do.

The region with the highest number of violent incidents was the Middle East, with 138 incidents recorded. These include 66 cases in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

There have been numerous reports in the West Bank of Israeli settlers destroying water pipes and reservoirs and attacking Palestinian farmers.

Israeli troops in Gaza destroyed more than 30 wells in the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis.

Gleick noted that when the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant Last year, the leaders of Israel and Hamas, accused of crimes against humanity, cited Israeli military attacks on Gaza's water systems.

“This is an acknowledgment that these attacks are a violation of international law,” he said. “There is a need to strengthen enforcement of international laws that protect water systems from attack.”

Water supplies were also frequently attacked during the Russian-Ukrainian war, during which researchers counted 51 violent incidents.

Russian strikes have disrupted water supplies in Ukrainian cities, and oil spilled into the river after Russian troops 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 conflict,” Gleick said.

Researchers also found that water shortages and drought are causing an increase in violent conflict.

“Climate change is exacerbating these problems,” Gleick said.

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

In India, residents angry about water shortages attacked a city worker.

In Cameroon, rice farmers clashed with fishermen, leaving 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, disputes between farmers and cities, and violence in places where little water is safe to drink.

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

The United Nations in its Sustainable Development Goals, says that every person should have access to water and sanitation.

“Failure to do so is inexcusable and results in a great deal of suffering,” Gleick said. “It contributes to poor health, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, water-related diseases and also contributes to conflicts over water.”

Latin America has seen dozens of violent water-related incidents in the past year.

Protests took place in the Mexican state of Veracruz. blocking the road condemn a pork processing plant they accused of using too much water and releasing pollution when police opened fire, killing two men.

In Honduras, environmental activist Juan Lopez, who campaigned to protect rivers from mining, was shot as he was leaving church. He was the fourth member of his group to be killed.

“This issue needs more attention, especially 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 need to turn this around.”

There have been few reported events in the US in recent years. In 2024, there were cyber attacks on water utilities in Texas and Indiana.

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

The Pacific Institute currently has more than 2,750 conflicts in its database. Most of them occurred after 2000. The researchers add incidents that occurred in 2025, as well as in previous years.

During severe drought in Iran exacerbated by climate change, farmers were desperate to go against security forces, require access to river water. Iran's water crisis, worsened by decades of over-pumping of groundwater, has become so serious that the president told Tehran can no longer remain the capital and the government will have to move it to another city.

Tensions are also rising between Iran and Afghanistan. over the Helmand Riverand Iranian leaders blame their upstream neighbor for not allowing enough water to flow into the country.

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