Challenge 5: Data driven water security and safety

AquaXperts: YA-ZA-4

Introduction

Access to safe and sufficient drinking water is a fundamental human right, yet many rural communities in India face significant challenges in securing this vital resource. Our team from South Africa, is proposing the Water Security Action Hub, a multi-stakeholder initiative designed to address water security and safety in rural India through inclusive, data-driven digital tools. This blogpost outlines our solution, inspired by collaborative efforts and innovative technologies discussed during our project journey.

The Challenge

The challenge we tackled, as part of Challenge 5, was: How might we create easy-to-use, inclusive digital tools that enable rural households and communities to assess, access, and act on water quality and availability data? In rural India, only 18.5% of households have access to piped drinking water, with many relying on untreated sources like hand pumps and wells, leading to health risks from contaminants like fluoride and arsenic. Issues such as water scarcity, inefficient agricultural practices, pollution, and inadequate infrastructure exacerbate the problem, disproportionately affecting marginalized groups like women and girls.

Our Solution: The Water Security Action Hub

The Water Security Action Hub is a holistic, multi-pronged approach that integrates technology, community participation, and stakeholder collaboration to ensure sustainable water supply and safety. Our solution focuses on six key areas of action, refined through team discussions and expert consultations, to address the water value chain from source to tap and back:

Community-Based Water Resource Monitoring: Empowering communities with IoT-based tools to monitor water quality and quantity in real time, ensuring early detection of contaminants and shortages.
Smart Metering and Leak Detection: Implementing IoT smart meters to track water usage, reduce non-revenue water losses, and detect leaks, inspired by team members expertise in IoT systems for water monitoring.
Water Treatment Solutions: Deploying decentralized, community-managed treatment systems to provide safe drinking water, addressing issues like agricultural runoff and natural contaminants.
Optimized Water Collection and Storage: Promoting sustainable practices like rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge, as highlighted in our research and expert sessions, to enhance water availability.
Efficient Water Distribution: Developing metered pipeline systems to ensure equitable water access from main sources to household taps, incorporating data-driven technologies for long-term sustainability.
Citizen Science and Community Engagement: Encouraging active community involvement through digital platforms, such as mobile apps with social feeds, to share data and foster collective action, drawing from team ideas about social integration.

Our Approach

Our team, consisting of members from diverse backgrounds including data science, IoT, and water management, collaborated extensively to scope and ideate this solution. Key milestones included:

Ideation and Scoping: Through Miro board brainstorming and affinity mapping, we identified critical pain points in the water value chain and aligned our solution with the needs of rural Indian communities.
Expert Consultations: Sessions with experts, such as Virginia Molose from the Water Research Commission (WRC), provided insights into community-based water supply models, while discussions on dry sanitation and decentralized wastewater treatment systems (DEWATS) informed our holistic approach.
Technology Integration: Prototype for IoT-based water quality and flow monitoring, including modular sensors for pressure and ultrasonic detection, was adapted to address India-specific parameters like fluoride and arsenic contamination.

Impact and Vision

The Water Security Action Hub aims to transform water access in rural India by empowering communities with actionable data and sustainable infrastructure. By integrating smart technologies and community-driven approaches, our solution addresses health risks, reduces inequalities, and supports economic and educational opportunities, particularly for women and girls. The hub’s multi-stakeholder model ensures scalability, with partnerships involving local governments, NGOs, and communities to drive long-term change.