In El Salvador, the most densely populated country in Central America, more than 600,000 people do not have access to drinking water or sanitation service. Seventy-eight percent of the country’s river waters are polluted, and people in rural areas – especially women – are risking their lives travelling by foot to collect water from rivers because the state is not providing them with water service. The government has passed a new water law promising to improve water access, but many activists say the law is really about privatising the service.