New Delhi: The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) joined Safe Water Network today in hosting its fifth “Beyond the Pipe” forum in India.

Safe Water Network and USAID, at the widely attended forum, also released the report “Policy & Enabling Environment for Urban Small Water Enterprises” that makes recommendations on how to scale up safe water enterprises in urban slums. The report has been compiled under the “Urban Small Water Enterprises,” a three-year partnership between USAID and Safe Water Network. 

Speaking at the forum, Ramona El Hamzaoui, USAID Deputy Mission Director to India, said: “USAID is proud to have supported Safe Water Network for the Small Water Enterprises project. We are glad that the project was able to leverage Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and private sector support to install 50 Water ATMs that will provide safe water access to 150,000 people in urban slums in the city. It’s a great success for all parties involved that small water enterprises models promoted under our joint project have been adopted as policy recommendations by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for implementation under the AMRUT program.”

The Water ATMs or Any Time Water kiosks dispense WHO-standard clean drinking water at a nominal cost using a pre-paid card.

Kurt Soderlund, Chief Executive Officer of Safe Water Network, said: “We’re pleased to be working with leading stakeholders to advance models, innovations, and partnerships to solve the drinking water needs of millions of urban poor in India and around the world.”

RavindraSewak, India Country Director, Safe Water Network, remarks, “Today, at a capital investment of nearly Rs. 4,000 crores ($592 million), urban small water enterprises can bring sustainable, safe drinking water access to 35 million urban slum dwellers living in India. Let us join hands to expand scaling up the approach as part of a broader mission to address the safe water access gap in urban slums.”