HOW WATER SECURITY IS  TRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES IN INDIA

HOW WATER SECURITY IS 

TRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES IN INDIA 

INDIA: In Solapur's semi-arid Karmala Block, SWN works with communities and farmers across six villages covering 5,000 hectares through five core practices: pond rejuvenation, contour trenching, tree planting, drip irrigation, and water-saving agriculture. The impact on 4,950 farmers has been significant. Wells that ran dry by November now hold water through March, a five-year first. With water security restored, farmers have shifted away from water-intensive sugarcane on their own initiative. One farmer earned INR 5.5 lakh (approximately $6,000) in a single watermelon crop cycle. Another has grown his cattle herd from two cows to twenty.

In Gurugram, the rejuvenated Behlpa pond tells a different dimension of the same story. The 2.5-acre site was desilted, its water channels cleared, its embankments reinforced, and 700 trees planted along its perimeter. The pond now supports a plant nursery, a seed bank, and migratory birds in the winter months. Nearby, SWN's ACOM (Automatic Chlorination and Online Monitoring) pilot in the village of Isaki, established at the invitation of Haryana's Public Health and Engineering Department, is serving as a proof of concept for the national Jal Jeevan Mission's "Drink from Tap" initiative.

SWN regularly brings funders, donors, and partners to the field to see the impact of their support firsthand, and our advisory councils in India and Ghana play a central role in that connection. Comprised of experts in business, engineering, technology, international development, and water, the councils help SWN with strategic direction, and to advise on policy, partnerships, and potential funding opportunities. 

Last month, India Advisory Council member Hew Crooks visited SWN's field operations across Maharashtra and Haryana to see the work firsthand. Hew brings more than 30 years of experience in private equity, infrastructure, and operations to the Council, and his prior work with SWN as SVP, Operations gives him a longer view of just how much the work has evolved.

CONSTRUCTION STARTS ON 

EIGHT NEW AND UPGRADED STATIONS

ACCRA: Last month marked a significant milestone for SWN's Ghana program, as sod-cutting ceremonies were held across eight of the ten sites selected for new station construction and retrofits in the Ashanti, Ahafo, and Volta regions. Community and district leaders, SWN field teams, contractor staff, and residents gathered at each site, a visible sign of the shared commitment that makes this work possible. Preparations at the remaining two sites continue, with ceremonies expected to follow.

The ceremonies formally signal the start of civil works. They come after months of rigorous preparation: detailed engineering designs, source selection, water yield and quality testing, permits, and community agreements. Each site was chosen through a disciplined process that weighs community need, population size, source water availability, road accessibility, electricity access, and demonstrated willingness to support a viable water service. Of the roughly ten sites selected, approximately five will be new stations and five will be retrofits — upgrades that include household connection improvements and expanded production and distribution capacity at existing systems.

Throughout construction, SWN conducts community outreach on the project's goals and its social and environmental commitments, ensuring residents understand what is being built and why it matters. As each station nears completion, local water operators and customer service officers are trained to run and sustain the system from day one.

When complete, this expansion will increase SWN's total reach in Ghana to 700,000+ people with direct access to safe, affordable water.

Meet Benjamin Nyatepe

Benjamin joined Safe Water Network in 2022 as a National Service Personnel, a fresh university graduate putting his biochemistry and molecular biology training to work for the first time. Three years later, he serves as a Technical Service Officer, and the questions he asks have shifted from theoretical to immediate: Is this water safe to drink? Is this treatment system working? What happens to this community if it isn't?

Day to day, Benjamin tests water quality, supports treatment systems, and helps develop Water Safety Plans, the frameworks that identify risks in a community water supply and keep them from becoming crises. The science is the same as what he studied. The stakes are different.

"What I find meaningful," he says, "is that the work doesn't stay in a lab. It goes directly to the people who need it."

Benjamin believes SWN is making real progress on safe water access across Ghana, and that sustaining that progress is the work he's here to do.