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Dhaka in Bangladesh, a city of 13 million, suffers chronic water problems. The Buriganga River, which runs through Dhaka, is black with untreated sewage and toxic waste from the 277 tanneries and other industries that line its banks. Each year $240 million worth of leather skins are exported from...

Dhaka in Bangladesh, a city of 13 million, suffers chronic water problems. The Buriganga River, which runs through Dhaka, is black with untreated sewage and toxic waste from the 277 tanneries and other industries that line its banks. Each year $240 million worth of leather skins are exported from...

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Dhaka in Bangladesh, a city of 13 million, suffers chronic water problems. The Buriganga River, which runs through Dhaka, is black with untreated sewage and toxic waste from the 277 tanneries and other industries that line its banks. Each year $240 million worth of leather skins are exported from... Pacific . Sydney Australia 2002 © Paul Blackmore A Haitian Man bathes under the scared waters at Saut d'Eau Haiti 2001 © Paul Blackmore Bathers Black Sea Russia 2001 © Paul Blackmore In a Voodoo ceremony, Ogoun (the spirit of iron, hunting, politics and war) is honored with rituals and animal sacrifices in and around the sacred mud pond Bassin St Jacques in Plain du Nord. A man, possessed by a voodoo spirit, falls into the sacred pond. Haiti 2001 © Paul Blackmore The Aral Sea, once a glistening body of water, lost two-thirds of its volume when its source waters were diverted to irrigate new mega-farms the Soviet Union created during the 1960’s. Diverting the water resulted in the collapse of the once healthy local fishing industry, forcing people to aband... Orthodox Jewish men and boys collect water from an ancient mountain spring during the Mayim Shelanu (rested water) ceremony. The water is left to stand overnight then used to bake matzoh (unleavened bread) to be eaten during the Passover festival. The week long festival commemorates the hasty fli... A young Russian man immerses himself in freezing water as part of the Russian Orthodox Ritual of the Epiphany. Each year a crucifix is carved into the frozen lake in front of the Monastery Velikiy. Believers all over Russia participate in the ritual as a form of spiritual cleansing.  Russia 2009 ... A Haitian mother and daughter bathe in the waters of a cascade as part of the Voodoo festival Saut d’Eau. Saut d’Eau is home to Haiti’s celebrated patron saint, Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Vierge Miracle). Saut d’Eau is said to be the most important pilgrimage site in Haiti. Thousands of pilgrims f... Trucks transport water to areas of the city where the locals, lacking access to clean drinking water, are forced to pay for the delivered water. Dhaka, Bangladesh 2010 © Paul Blackmore By 2000 the decades-long war for independence against Ethiopia had resulted in 290,000 Eritreans living in Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps throughout the country. The scarcity of clean, fresh water in the over-populated camps was a daily health concern for the IDPs. Girls in a camp outs... At Water’s Edge by Paul Blackmore