Providing Potable Water to Millions of Rural Poor

Creating Models for Sustainable Development

Water is life…but unfortunately many rural communities in the state of Andhra Pradesh still do not have access to this basic need. Women and children walking long distance and fetching water with heavy pots on their heads and shoulders is still a common scene of daily life in many villages of Andhra Pradesh. Many of the drinking water sources in the rural areas are contaminated. Consuming contaminated water is affecting the health of the rural communities.

To help the rural communities, SOPAR - Bala Vikasa during the past 27 years have supported about one million rural population in about 3,000 villages to have easy access to potable water by constructing 475 overhead tanks and 4000 bore wells with manually operated hand pumps in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Bala Vikasa is one of the leading organizations in providing potable water to rural communities. Bala Vikasa implements these programs all over the state of Andhra Pradesh with its strong network of more than 40 partner NGOs spread in all the districts. The programs are implemented in the most economical, effective and sustainable manner.

The Drinking Water Supply Projects Supported by Bala Vikasa are of Two Kinds as follows:

1. Over Head Tanks Supplying Water to the Door Steps of the Beneficiaries:

The water is pumped from a tube well to the overhead reservoir and then distributed with gravity through pipeline to individual houses in the village. The water is supplied to the families at their convenient timings.

2. Bore Wells with Manually Operated Pump:

A bore well is drilled on the streets of the village at a convenient place for the target beneficiaries. The beneficiaries come to the pump and collect the water.

In order to make the project sustainable, Bala Vikasa motivates the beneficiaries to get organized and contribute 15% of the project cost and also form a “Village Water Committee” for taking care of operation and maintenance of the project. The projects which were supported 25 years ago are still functioning effectively is an indication of sustainability of the projects.

The water committees do not limit their role to maintenance of the water project. With gained experience and strong leadership they initiate other development aspects in the village and contribute for the integrated development of the village.