Water quality is an essential component of vibrant societies and ecosystems. For decades, researchers, managers, and policymakers around the world have struggled to accelerate societal progress while preserving and enhancing water quality and human health. This thesis consists of two studies that I hope will contribute to better understanding, policy, and management. In the first study, I evaluated spatial and temporal patterns in global water quality and their relationship to gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, as a metric of socioeconomic development status. Using global water quality datasets containing over 2.7 million observations, I tested the Environmental Kuznet Curve (EKC) hypothesis, which predicts that environmental degradation is highest at intermediate levels of socioeconomic development. I found that 46% of pollutants persisted at elevated concentrations despite GDP per capita. Because of this, high income countries experience a false sense of water security as water regulation violations are common on a global scale. In the second study, I measured waterborne pathogens in Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador. With a population of over 3 million and distinct hydrology from monsoonal rains and estuarine flooding, the Guayaquil metropolitan area faces drinking water and sanitation challenges similar to much of the developing world. I found that 100% of the samples we collected had unsafe total coliform counts. Water pollution is widespread and is a result of careless action. Moving forward, chronic pollution can be prevented with proper legislation that holds governments, companies, and individuals accountable.