Water Supply Systems

Safe, reliable, and affordable water supply is critical for health, livelihoods, and wellbeing. Safe piped water supply provides ease of access, increased likelihood of availability when needed, and, often, better water quality. To date, there has been substantial progress towards a global goal of safe piped water for all. In 2017, 4.8 billion people – 63% of the global population – had access to piped water on premises (WHO, 2021), a 37% increase in the population with access to piped water between 2000 and 2017, with the greatest gains occurring in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (Joint Monitoring Program, 2019). Key to maintaining this success will be continuing to expand service while ensuring the sustained functioning and service quality of existing systems.

Barriers to sustained high quality piped water supply service are substantial. Climate change threatens supply availability and affects water quality. Population growth and movement is also a challenge, adding pressure on water demands and accelerating a need to expand piped water systems. Increasing risks to water quality burden water systems with additional expenses and the need to change operational practices. At the same time, the weak financial status of water systems, combined with limited technical and managerial capacities and political factors, contribute to vulnerabilities, as they reduce the ability of water systems to prepare for stressors, respond to change, and even perform regular operations.

The research projects we engage in examine the institutional and governance factors that affect the long-term sustainability water supply systems and their ability to respond and adapt to present day and future stresses.