Research & Extension: Community-Based Water Quality Monitoring

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham’s Centre for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality, in partnership with Tel Aviv University, Israel, led a pioneering initiative titled Women in Sustaining the Environment (WISE) to address the urgent challenges of drinking water safety in resource-poor communities. This project directly contributes to SDG 6 and SDG 5 by integrating technology, participatory research, and women’s leadership in water governance. Focusing on India and Tanzania, the project mobilised local women as Water Ambassadors, trained them through the Water Quality Monitoring-AmriTAU Protocol, and equipped them with mobile apps and low-cost sensors to monitor household-level water quality. This initiative filled critical data gaps by generating real-time, geo-tagged, community-owned water quality data, shifting the paradigm from centralised lab-based testing to grassroots monitoring.

Key Highlights of the Project:

• Training 27 Rural Women from India and Tanzania as Water Ambassadors in digital tools, field testing, and hygiene education.
• Development of the WISE App & Dashboard for live data collection, feedback, and decision-making.
• Water Quality Profiling using participatory rural appraisal tools and laboratory testing.
• Monthly Monitoring Campaigns across ~2500 households with tailored recommendations.
• Families adopted safer storage practices and became more aware of water quality
• Collaboration with local panchayats and health workers to address contamination issues.
• Distribution of clean water storage containers to all community homes.
• Promoted local leadership, ownership, and sustainable water use.

This community-centric, tech-enabled approach showcases how gender-transformative water interventions can not only enhance access to clean drinking water but also serve as a platform for women’s empowerment, data democratisation, and sustainable development.

Publications

1. Ramesh, R., Frank, E., Padmavilochanan, A., Barda, Y., Eldar, I., Wolf, H., … & Fishman, R. (2024). Reliable Water Quality Monitoring by Women in Low-Resource Communities. ACS ES&T Water, 4(9), 3832-3841.
2. Ajith, V., Fishman, R., Yosef, E., Edris, S., Ramesh, R., Suresh, R. A., … & Mamane, H. (2023). An integrated methodology for assessment of drinking-water quality in low-income settings. Environmental Development, 46, 100862.
3. Ramesh, R., Sithara, G. S., Gireesh, G. S., Nair, R. R., Ajay, A., Von Lieries, J. S., & Bhavani, R. R. (2024). Training of Rural Women to Monitor the Water Quality at the Point of Use to Increase WASH Empowerment in Rural India. IEEE GHTC, 332–339.
4. Ramesh, R., Mohan, A., N. N., von Lieres, J. S., & Rao, B. R. (2023). Exploring the Role of Women in Technology-Driven Water Quality Monitoring Using a Participatory Approach. IEEE GHTC.
5. Ramesh, R., N. N., Mohan, A., von Lieres, J. S., & Rao, B. R. (2023). Enablers of Rural Women’s Adoption of Water Quality Monitoring Technologies for Ensuring Clean and Safe Drinking Water. IEEE GHTC.
6. Ramesh, R., Sithara, G. S., Nair, R. R., Gireesh, G. S., Ajay, A., von Lieres, J. S., & Bhavani, R. R. (2024). Enablers and Barriers to Improved Drinking Water Sources and Safe Water Practices in Rural India. IEEE GHTC.