Current wastewater treatment targets are insufficient to protect surface water quality

The quality of global water resources is increasingly strained by socio-economic developments and climate change, threatening both human livelihoods and ecosystem health. With inadequately managed wastewater being a key driver of deterioration, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.3 was established to halve the proportion of untreated wastewater discharged to the environment by 2030. Yet, the impact of achieving SDG6.3 on global ambient water quality is unknown. Addressing this knowledge gap, we develop a high-resolution surface water quality model for salinity as indicated by total dissolved solids, organic pollution as indicated by biological oxygen demand and pathogen pollution as indicated by fecal coliform. Our model includes a novel spatially-explicit approach to incorporate wastewater treatment practices, a key determinant of in-stream pollution. We show that achieving SDG6.3 reduces water pollution, but is still insufficient to improve ambient water quality to below key concentration thresholds in several world regions. Particularly in the developing world, reductions in pollutant loadings are locally effective but transmission of pollution from upstream areas still leads to water quality issues downstream. Our results highlight the need to go beyond the SDG-target for wastewater treatment in order to achieve the overarching goal of clean water for all.