In developing countries, poor people have suffered the most from shortages of clean
water. There are several reasons for this. First, in many developing countries, the
majority of houses in poor villages and urban slums are not yet served by a piped water
system. People living in these places often have to walk many miles to find water and
carry it home in jugs and plastic containers. Second, these people usually have few
alternatives to the piped water supply. There may be water closer by in rivers or lakes,
but this is often dangerously polluted. In some areas, street vendors sell water by the
liter, but they often charge extremely high prices for water that is not always safe to
drink.