Every year fierce floods affect the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in North Bihar due to heavy rainfall and breaching of embankments. During the floods, there is a critical lack of safe drinking water, sanitation and shelter that increases the vulnerability of people to the outbreak of diseases and malnutrition.
The project improved water quality by tackling the fluoride problem in a village in Andhra Pradesh. Existing concerns within the government systems of Chitoor district about fluoride contamination were validated through water quality studies. Several decentralised fluoride mitigation measures were tested during the pilot phase. This helped in the identification of several cost-effective solutions for improving water quality and led to efforts to introduce these measures in the district.
Huge stress on limited water sources in Chingtham village resulted in reduced drinking water availability. The project helped improve awareness on the need for safe drinking water, health and sanitation. It also helped people access safe drinking water, with infection from contaminated water by reducing contamination from around 70% at the beginning of the project to 20% at the end.
The project also promoted appropriate sanitation technologies such as Ecosan toilets. There was also an increase in women’s involvement in planning, decision making and management of water.
One of the important, yet often neglected aspects of water security is the operation and maintenance (O&M) of water supply systems. If systems are not properly used and cared for, it is not long before they go defunct.
