The world is at a historic inflection point: by 2030 a global water deficit of 40% is projected, while more than 2.2 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water. The climate crisis, aquifer overexploitation, and massive waste of water resources are not just alarming data points: they are direct threats to public health, economic stability, and the security of our societies. In comparative terms, every day volumes equivalent to the annual consumption of millions of households are lost, graphically illustrating the magnitude of the urgency.
In this context, the project developed in Karnataka, India, emerges as a transformative opportunity that seeks to redefine communities’ relationship with water. It is located in a state where more than 40% of rural populations depend on contaminated sources and nearly 60% of groundwater shows chemical and microbiological contaminants above WHO standards. Here, the challenge is not only technical but also social and economic: millions of people are trapped in a cycle of waterborne diseases, healthcare costs, and productivity losses. The intervention aims to break this logic through decentralized purification systems combining reverse osmosis and ultraviolet disinfection, capable of providing safe and affordable water in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas. Each liter purified represents hours recovered for education, family economy, and health; each installed plant is equivalent to covering the annual needs of thousands of households that currently depend on unsafe sources.
The strategic objective is to transform access to drinking water in vulnerable contexts, closing the quality and availability gap and thus enabling true water and social resilience. The project’s raison d’être lies in the urgency of reducing pressure on overexploited aquifers, responding to regulatory requirements for universal access to WASH, and cutting the direct link between contaminated water and disease. Its justification is not only based on unmet basic needs but also on the opportunity to create a regenerative water economy, where water is no longer a limitation but a driver of development.
The initiative involves local authorities, communities in shared management schemes, specialized technology providers, and verification entities that ensure the quality, traceability, and transparency of benefits. In this sense, the project positions itself as a clear example of Water Positive, fulfilling the principles of additionality, by generating benefits that would not exist without the intervention; traceability, by measuring and verifying every liter of safe water delivered under recognized methodologies such as Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting (VWBA); and intentionality, by being explicitly designed to contribute to global water balance goals and Science Based Targets for Water. It is a bold and visionary initiative that demonstrates how innovation can turn crisis into opportunity and lays the groundwork for a future where water is synonymous with health, equity, and climate resilience.
Karnataka faces structural water stress aggravated by the degradation of its local sources, contaminated with dissolved solids, chemicals, and microorganisms. This generates a triple gap: health, due to the persistence of waterborne diseases; economic, due to healthcare expenses and lost productive hours; and resilience, due to vulnerability to droughts and supply failures. The project responds by installing decentralized purification systems based on reverse osmosis and UV disinfection, capable of transforming low-quality water into safe and affordable water, with real-time digital monitoring and compliance with national and international standards. It is estimated that each module purifies [VOL_m3/year], equivalent to the annual consumption of thousands of 3.5-person households, immediately reducing dependence on contaminated wells and exposure to health risks. Direct benefits include the regeneration of potable water, reduction of emissions associated with tanker truck transport, and the replacement of unsafe domestic storage practices. This solution is possible thanks to the articulation of key actors: technology developers, local O&M operators, community authorities, and external verification entities that ensure traceability and trust in results.
The model is replicable because it is based on standardized, scalable, and adaptable modules for different watershed contexts, with short installation times and learning economies that optimize OPEX. Acting now is essential: postponing intervention means deepening economic losses, worsening health, and increasing pressure on aquifers. Companies in sectors such as food, beverage, retail, or energy can lead this solution and, in doing so, gain clear benefits: verifiable compliance with ESG commitments, visibility and reputation in demanding markets, competitive differentiation, and alignment with new regulations and global frameworks such as Science Based Targets for Water and Water Positive. In sum, it is a bold bet that turns a technical and environmental problem into an economic, reputational, and social asset of high impact.
The intervention is classified as WASH within the Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting (VWBA) framework and is deployed under a progressive and technically robust implementation logic. The proposed technical solution combines prefiltration, RO membranes for the removal of dissolved solids and chemical contaminants, and UV lamps to ensure microbiological disinfection, also integrating safe storage and controlled distribution. After evaluating alternatives such as conventional chlorination and carbon filtration, this hybrid gray-digital scheme was chosen for its greater effectiveness, traceability, and ability to meet national and international regulations in contexts of high water quality variability. Each module has an operational capacity of [CAP_m3/day], benefiting thousands of users per locality, and is classified as a gray solution complemented by digital components for monitoring and control.
Implementation is organized in clear stages. First, the diagnosis and baseline allow characterization of sources, demands, and risks, and the establishment of reference indicators. In the engineering and installation phase, the treatment train is deployed, IoT sensors (flowmeters, turbidity, TDS, residual chlorine, UVT) and the SCADA platform are integrated, and O&M contracts are formalized. In the commissioning stage, parameters are adjusted, volumes and qualities are validated against the baseline, and local staff is trained. Finally, the monitoring and verification stage consolidates VWBA reports, external audits, and claims under credible protocols, integrating a system of continuous improvement.
The technical and strategic justification lies in the fact that the intervention addresses a critical problem of public health and environmental pressure: replacing contaminated sources with safe water, reducing extraction from overexploited aquifers, and stabilizing supply in a region vulnerable to monsoons. Selection criteria included energy efficiency (kWh/m³ reduced with VFDs and progressive solarization), cost/benefit compared to alternatives, regulatory compliance, and potential replicability. In terms of Water Positive, it meets the principles of additionality by creating benefits that would not exist without the intervention; traceability by measuring each liter produced; and intentionality by being explicitly designed to contribute to global and regional targets.
The expected benefits are tangible: [VOL_m3/year] of water regenerated in potable quality, reduced emissions due to less tanker truck transport, and substitution of contaminant-laden purification inputs. Environmentally, it reduces poorly managed RO reject through recirculation and treatment plans; socially, it reduces disease, frees hours for women and girls, and creates local employment; economically, it lowers healthcare costs, increases operational resilience, and provides certifications and verifiable ESG reputation.
The main risks identified include technological failures of membranes or UV lamps, hydrological variability of sources, and social resistance to new tariff schemes. These are mitigated through redundant systems, O&M contracts with strict service level agreements, contingency plans, and shared governance with communities and authorities. Specific protocols prevent critical failures such as cross-contamination, seasonal shortages, or saline intrusion, with automatic alarms and rapid response protocols. Long-term climate resilience is ensured by diversifying sources, integrating renewable energies, and strengthening local capacities.
Finally, scalability is guaranteed by modularity: it can be replicated in other water-stressed basins in India and similar international contexts, provided that shared governance conditions and basic regulatory frameworks exist. Its competitiveness against alternatives is supported by indicators such as cost per m³ treated and compliance rate >95% with drinking water standards. Public-private, community, and technological partnerships enable scaling, consolidating a replicable model that offers technical, social, environmental, and economic benefits at scale.
Implementation is conceived under an adaptive and phased approach, allowing the project to be tailored to the particularities of each locality and changing basin conditions. It begins with a diagnosis and baseline phase, characterizing available sources, water quality and quantity, projected demand, operational risks, and community health profiles. At this stage, KPIs, alarm thresholds, and the methodology for comparing the with- and without-project scenarios are also defined.
The second phase corresponds to detailed engineering and modular installation, where reverse osmosis and UV disinfection systems are designed and assembled, secure storage and distribution units are integrated, and a network of IoT sensors (flowmeters, turbidity, TDS, residual chlorine, UVT) is implemented. All of this is connected to a SCADA platform enabling remote monitoring and digital data management. This phase includes signing supply and O&M contracts, technical commissioning, adoption of biosecurity protocols, and an intensive training plan for local operators.
In the commissioning and optimization phase, operational set-points are adjusted, flows and quality parameters are validated against the baseline, and the accredited laboratory sampling plan is consolidated. Next, the external validation and monitoring phase is developed, in which continuous telemetry, maintenance logs, and quarterly audits allow results to be contrasted and VWBA/WQBA reports to be generated with digital and physical evidence. Claims are issued under credible communication protocols, specifying attribution, period, geography, and levels of uncertainty.
Operations incorporate a preventive and predictive maintenance plan, supported by a fault matrix, critical spare parts, and rapid response service level agreements (SLAs), ensuring service continuity. Governance is distributed among technical operators, beneficiary communities, regulatory authorities, and external verifiers, assigning roles and responsibilities in operation, monitoring, maintenance, and validation. Physical water traceability is guaranteed through controlled conveyance and storage systems, while digital traceability is ensured through the IoT platform and SCADA, with automatic alarms for any deviation.
The implementation scheme also includes a continuous improvement mechanism, where generated data feed back into the process to optimize efficiency, update technology, and strengthen local capacities. This ensures the permanence of benefits over time and prepares the ground to scale the model to [n] additional localities, always maintaining technical credibility and consistency with Water Positive and VWBA principles.
The initiative consists of implementing decentralized community water purification systems based on reverse osmosis (RO) and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection technologies. Technically, the intervention encompasses the entire process from capturing low-quality water to its integral treatment, incorporating prefiltration, high-efficiency membranes, UV lamps, safe storage, and controlled distribution. The entire process is supervised by IoT instrumentation, flowmeters, quality probes, and a SCADA platform that ensures full traceability and real-time control. The modular design allows nominal capacities of [CAP_m3/day] per unit, directly benefiting thousands of users in urban, peri-urban, and rural communities. Compliance with national drinking water standards, WHO, and even European directives guarantees health quality and operational safety.
The relevance of this solution lies in addressing the structural problem of contaminated sources and basin water stress, replacing unsafe practices with a reliable, traceable, and sustainable service. Compared to the baseline situation of dependence on contaminated wells and intermittent supply, the project offers continuity, quality, and resilience. Expected results include the annual production of [VOL_m3/year] of safe drinking water, significant reductions in coliforms and dissolved solids, lower pressure on aquifers, and emissions avoided by replacing tanker trucks. Socially, reductions in waterborne diseases, improved school attendance, and freed time for women and girls are expected; environmentally, energy efficiency through VFDs and solarization reduces carbon intensity per cubic meter treated; economically, healthcare costs decrease and the productive resilience of value chains is strengthened.
From a strategic perspective, the project aligns with the Water Positive roadmap and with global commitments such as Science Based Targets for Water, NPWI, and the SDGs, providing tangible ESG benefits: social license to operate, competitive differentiation, international reputation, and regulatory compliance. The model is replicable and scalable thanks to its modularity and standardization, which allows it to be deployed in other stressed basins in India and international geographies facing similar challenges. Scalability is supported by clear technical conditions, community participation, and public-private partnerships that facilitate replication.
The final expected impact is a positive contribution to the basin’s water balance, reducing pressure on unsafe sources and strengthening resilience to climate change. Socially, it promotes local employment, public health, and equitable access to water; strategically, it sends investors, clients, and society the message that it is possible to turn the water crisis into an opportunity for transition toward a regenerative economy, where safe water is a driver of development, equity, and sustainability.
