Water pollution threatens nearly all the globally agreed upon development goals to end environmental destruction, poverty and suffering by 2030, economists warned in a report on Tuesday, citing the largest-ever database on the world's water quality.

The World Bank report warned of the ripple effects of water pollution on the health, economies, education and agriculture of rich and poor countries alike.

"This study was a huge wake-up call to us about the quality of water worldwide," said Richard Damania, World Bank economist and one of the study's authors.