Building Capacity for Improved Safe Water Access in India

Safe Water Network is expanding access to safe water as the Key Resource Center for the Government of India’s flagship initiative Jal Jeevan Mission, which aims to provide adequate drinking water directly to taps in every household in India by 2024. We are building management capacity as water infrastructure is implemented across India and, over the next three years, will train over 12,000 regional and local leaders.

To meet this need, Safe Water Network developed a digital knowledge library with training curriculum and tool kits for building water management capacity at the community level. The iTapWater Toolkit, for example, contains comprehensive tutorials to design, implement, and operate community piped water supply systems. As the Government of India completes the Jal Jeevan Mission, Safe Water Network will continue adapting this training to meet the needs of local officials, operators, and technicians and keep the water flowing.

Safe Water Network expanded access to safe water for urban India by bringing together the public, private, and civil sectors to develop sustainable solutions. We launched a City Water Alliance and began working with municipal leaders in Hyderabad, Nagpur, Gurugram, Faridabad, Amravati, and Chandrapur to build management capacity, maintain sustainable water supplies in the face of climate change, and recommend policy changes to improve access to safe water for underserved communities.

The Safe Water Enterprise (SWE) Alliance in India, a network of 47 organizations launched by Safe Water Network in 2018, continued to expand access to safe water through implementation of community-based solutions across the country. In partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Safe Water Network hosted a recurring Clean Water Talks webinar series with SWE Alliance members and presented field insights on safe water delivery best practices at Stockholm International Water Institute’s World Water Week, the Malaysia International Water Convention, and University of North Carolina’s Water and Health Conference.

SWE Alliance member organizations also continued developing the Water Knowledge Resource Center (WKRC) program, which promotes education on sanitation, hygiene, and COVID prevention practices at the community level through programming at local safe water stations. By the end of 2021, SWE Alliance WKRCs reached over 90,000 people with access to safe water and essential public health education.