Honeywell and Save Water Network partnership opened its 25th iJal safe water station in Telangana to mark World Water Day. It provides drinking water to nearly 94,000 people in various districts.
Press Release, Telangana: Safe Water Network and Honeywell India announced the launch of the 25th Honeywell-funded iJal safe water station in Telangana to mark World Water Day. Built over the last year, these 25 safe water stations are located in Karimnagar, Adilabad, Warangal, Khammam, and Nalgonda districts, and serve approximately 94,000 people in areas that lack safe drinking water.
The Honeywell-Safe Water Network initiative addresses a critical need in the region that suffers groundwater contamination from high levels of fluoride. Water and sanitation-related illnesses account for 70-80 percent of diseases in this area. During the three-month dry season beginning each March, water scarcity and drought are common; many women walk more than an hour each day to find water that is can still be considered unsafe.
“Honeywell is committed to creating truly lasting solutions for sustainability challenges facing communities around the globe. That is why we are proud to partner with Safe Water Network. Not only is the success of their mission due to technical expertise in safe drinking water, but because of their ability to engage and educate communities. What is transformational is their ability to change centuries of consumer behavior from treating water as a free commodity to paying for clean water,” said Anant Maheshwari, President, Honeywell India.
Honeywell is deeply invested in Telangana, where it has a state-of-the-art, global technology development center spread over a 10-acre campus in Hyderabad. Honeywell employs approximately 900 local engineers, among them volunteers who participate in the Honeywell-Safe Water Network program to raise awareness about safe drinking water in the region.
The Safe Water Network model has been successful because its water systems are owned, operated, and maintained by local communities, and report less than 2-percent downtime. Within 24 months of operation, 90 percent of stations are independent of ongoing subsidies for continued operations, technical support and maintenance. Safe Water Network works with supporters like Honeywell to demonstrate that large-scale impact can be achieved on a cost-effective and sustainable basis.
“Safe Water Network applies a business-like approach to a social problem, developing locally-owned water businesses for those beyond the reach of large infrastructure projects, and providing affordable safe drinking water to those most in need,” said Ravi Sewak, Country Director, Safe Water Network.
For its leadership in the field, Safe Water Network has been deemed a National Key Resource Center of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India.
Safe Water Network created the iJal brand, which has become a symbol of trust for communities and is recognized by households for reliable and affordable safe water. To date, Safe Water Network India has commissioned 125 iJal water stations, bringing affordable, safe water access to more than 430,000 people in Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra. In doing so, it has also trained more than 500 local village youth and women in the region, creating sustainable livelihoods for them. Ultimately, Safe Water Network aims to build 300 iJal safe water stations, providing access to nine lakh (900,000) people by 2018.