One third of the state of Maharashtra is drought prone as it falls in the rain shadow belt and receives erratic showers. The project examined ways to enhance implementation of drinking water and sanitation projects to create an Integrated Domestic Water Management (IDWM) model for replication in villages prone to water scarcity. Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) worked on an integrated watersheds approach in the villages, which was useful in strengthening and protecting the water source.

In 2008 Arghyam embarked on a year-long programme to gather data about and raise awareness on several water and sanitation issues. These included water quality and quantity, how water was stored, access to water, open defecation and menstrual hygiene. We called the programme ASHWAS, for ‘A Survey of Household Water and Sanitation’, and it ran into 2009.

This project aims to provide evidence of the current functioning of existing governance systems, structures, and procedures in scheduled areas in the context of water body management. It will capture the views and perspectives of various stakeholders, including academia, civil society organizations, elected representatives, and the people, for an effective governance system. In light of their constructive views and suggestions, the project will develop a way forward and initiate a process of change through capacity building, support, and technical assistance.

Poorly maintained infrastructure, lack of community participation and the inability to recover the maintenance fee from users were the main problems identified by the Gandhigram Trust in the project villages.

The traditional water harvesting systems of western Rajasthan are a science, elaborated by the people, to translate their experience with water into practice. For harvesting each type of water, they have engineered a structure.

In Phase I of this project, Sambhaav revived traditional water structures in Rajasthan, and phase II is a continuation of this project. The approach that Sambhaav adopts is completely participatory and community-centered, with a strong focus on sustainable interventions.

Effective water governance and disaster response needs data of stock of water resources, rate of flow of water, soil moisture levels, daily precipitation levels.