From the introduction:

"...The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the need to establish water as a human right and thereby raise the right to water to the status of customary international law. Human rights law is the best approach for ensuring people's access to water for many reasons. First, human dependency on water for life and health closely parallels those rights that are already considered customary international law. Seeking to create water as a human right also corresponds with the movement for increased rights and protections for women and children. Further, human rights is a powerful mechanism to establish obligations globally by including enforcement mechanisms within the right. If water becomes a human right, the right would be invested in all citizens in a more effective manner than if it were established through domestic or international law."