The Gaza Strip has endured more than its share of problems, but the quality of its water doesn't often make headlines. For decades the Gaza Strip has grappled with shockingly poor water quality. The region's sole source of fresh water is its underlying coastal aquifer, which Palestinians in Gaza have long resorted to over-pumping in a bid to quench the thirst of a rapidly growing population, currently 1.6 million and set to reach over two million by 2020. Water extraction rates currently come in at 190 million cubic metres a year, more than three times the aquifer's sustainable yield. And so, groundwater levels are down, sea water is infiltrating from the nearby Mediterranean Sea, and Gaza's tap water is getting saltier, far beyond World Health Organisation safe-drinking water guidelines.