Professionalizing Water Quality Management by empowered stakeholders

Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) is an aspirational programme aiming to provide functional tap water connections to every household in rural India, ensuring access to adequate safe water. This has placed significant importance on water quality and the adoption of the Water Safety Cycle Approach, in assuring access to safe water to the marginalized communities across the country. The perception of safe water, however, requires careful scrutiny at both the ends – by communities, as well as service providers.

In discussion with development partners (DPs) and the State Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) in Rajasthan, a need was found to develop and roll-out a formal online course on water quality management (WQM) for the implementing agencies of the JJM: the Implementing Support Agencies (ISAs), Key Resource Centres (KRCs) and the District Water & Sanitation Missions (DWSMs). 

Looking at the need of the hour to shift focus on water quality aspects, along with water availability, UNICEF Rajasthan along with partners have conceptualized an approach for capacity building of field functionaries, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), PHED staff, ISAs and KRCs on core water quality aspects, aligned to the objectives of JJM and Nirogi Rajasthan.

Currently, 6 batches have been completed from August 2021 till January, 2022 and the 7th batch is currently taking the course this month. From Rajasthan, the first batch for the course had more than 40 participants including PHED and JJM officials. Looking to the dire need of such a course in the pandemic for effective roll out of JJM, the course has since been shared with other State networks and has been received well with significant praise and demand. Many states have taken benefit of this programme, specifically PHED, ISAs and JJM district teams from Chattisgarh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

As of January, 2022, nearly 500 participants from 22 states have been part of the innovative WQM course and they are further working as 'Water Quality Champions” in their respective territories for creating mass awareness on water quality issues. Of the 500, approximately 250 participants are from PHED, RWSS and related departments such as engineers and chemists, and 150 participants are from NGO/ CSOs, comprising KRCs, ISAs and Sector Partners. 

The INREM Foundation, with the Water Quality Network including UNICEF as the lead partner, intends to continue the course, till it reaches VWSCs through ISAs, with the hope that it will help strengthen WQMS across States. The Water Quality Network (WQN) has been an initiative promoted by INREM Foundation since 2020, along with collaborative partners, with the objective of promoting wider water quality knowledge sharing in India, in response to the challenges in ensuring access to safe drinking water in rural India. It is a platform for knowledge sharing with specific emphasis on actionable information on field, and for making it easy to have peer-to- peer exchange.

The course comprises of 9 sessions each month with 22 modules of content covering WQ Basics, IEC and behaviour change communication, and other JJM related WQM&S actions. These are as below:

One of the things that makes the JJM unique is its focus on community participation and empowerment, and the sustainability of drinking water schemes, especially on issues such as water quality mitigation, that threaten schemes in the long run. 

At present, many stakeholders who have undertaken the course are attempting to utilize the offline version of the course content to orient frontline workers in the form of safe water learning cards. Senior PHED official Mr. Shaitan Singh, Superintending Engineer, who is leading the PHED team at Pratapgarh District, Rajasthan, participated actively in the sessions and was happy to learn more on BCC tools for community sensitization.

He emphasized that awareness on water quality, just through posters and wall paintings, as a one-way communication track is not going to serve the purpose. Rather, there is need for two way communication along with BCC approaches. Based on the learnings, he has envisioned a plan for community sensitization on adoption of improved hygiene behaviours, focusing on safe storage and handling of drinking water, in more than 900 villages, preparing his team of consultants for its effective implementation to ensure access to safe water, till it reaches the consumer end.

This is also called Water Safety Planning, where water quality analysis reports are timely shared with communities and PHED field staff for taking timely corrective actions to assure sustained water. Similarly, in other States too, the concerned stakeholders are applying the learnings in respective areas for effective roll out of JJM, so it is great recognition of our collaborative efforts to support JJM across States.

All this is being made possible only because of the partners of this course coming forward such as the Water Quality Network. UNICEF has provided guidance on the design and content, whereas Arghyam is enabling the course with digital tools and participatory attestation technologies. Other organizations such as Gram Vikas, People's Science Institute (PSI), Tata Trusts, Water Aid, AKRSP(I), Water for People, WASSAN, and many others are contributing for content and providing support as trainers to the course. 

Just as Mr Shaitan Singh, Mr Ramnivas Meena, Superintending Engineer, PHED, Dungarpur flagged the challenges on nitrate contamination in drinking water and wanted to have more knowledge to tackle the issue. Based on this, a two hour webinar on “Nitrate Matters” was organized by INREM on 19 January, 2022. It is of great impact that senior officials from PHED are taking keen interest on the issue, being Public Health Engineers, to ensure access to safe water.     

This article has been republished from Jal Jeevan Samvad, with permission.