Resources

Irrigation water quality impacts the agro-ecosystem, human health, and the overall well-being of the environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate upstream municipal and industrial pollution impacts on irrigated farming and ecosystem health. The suitability indices and Heavy Metal Pollution Index methods have been used to identify the contamination extent and corresponding spatial and seasonal variability. Samples were collected twice per annum, i.e., during the low-flow season and high-flow season (rainy season) in the 2022/23 year. Results demonstrate that metal pollution is a serious concern that needs upstream quality monitoring.

Women’s participation in water management institutions (WMOs) is seen as a vehicle for female empowerment and gender equity, yet this does not guarantee women are actively involved in decision making. This paper investigates opportunities for women’s empowerment via participation in WMOs in water insecure southwest coastal Bangladesh. Using qualitative research tools and methods, the study examines the extent and nature of women’s participation in WMOs and the factors that affect the level of participation in varying hydrological settings.

This document discusses the need for step-wise progression towards implementing the Guideline for the management of rural water and sanitation services published by Wasreb, Kenya's water regulator in 2019. It combines insight from engagements with Wasreb, rural water service providers, and other stakeholders to identify where there is a need to develop, strengthen and/or clarify key processes.

Balancing economic growth and river protection is a significant undertaking, but not an impossible one. This policy paper addresses the environmental, social, and regulatory complexities surrounding industrial production in Bangladesh. It examines how power dynamics in global supply chains influence state-market regulatory relationships and provides recommendations to strengthen state regulatory capacity, enhance civil society participation in regulatory processes, and strengthen public-private partnerships through global-local alignment.

This Story of Change explores the Fair Water? exhibition, a collaboration between REACH scientists and public engagement experts at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History to engage the public in discussions on water justice and communicate the value and influence of research. Based on extensive collaboration between REACH researchers and the museum exhibitions team, the exhibition used art, interviews, animations, interactive displays, and specimens from the museum to reveal some of the global barriers to water equality and explore how researchers, communities and policymakers are working together to shape a fair water future.

This report from the Institute for Climate Change and Adaptation (ICCA) at the University of Nairobi, Kenya provides a summary of key messages from research conducted under the REACH Kenya programme (2015-2024).

A brief overview of work by the REACH programme in Kenya on interlinked groundwater systems, institutions, water quality management and reducing inequalities, illustrating milestones in the Kitui and Turkana Water Security Observatories.

This perspective paper in Nature Sustainability reframes responses to mitigating the world’s water crises using a ‘beyond growth’ framing. Beyond growth is systems thinking that prioritizes the most disadvantaged. It seeks to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation by overcoming policy capture and inertia and by fostering place-based and justice-principled institutional changes.

Climate uncertainty has always existed both as a socio-ecological reality for pastoralists living with climate variability in drylands and as a component within climate modelling. Despite this, there is little consideration as to the experiences of poor people in the urban drylands living with intensified hazards. In response, this paper discusses an emerging conceptual nexus of uncertainty and precarity, using the example of flood disaster governance in Lodwar, Kenya.

This study looked into the water quality and flooding situation of Greater Dhaka for two successive monsoons through extensive river sampling coupled with the estimation of flooded area and exposed population using remote sensing tools.

This paper examines the political nature of water crisis discourses and their influence on responses to water and climate challenges. It argues that crisis definitions are not universally agreed upon but are shaped by authority, legitimacy, and the ability to mobilize resources.

This report, produced by the University of Oxford in collaboration with representatives from civil society, research institutions, government organisations, and NGOs, evaluates public participation and community engagement in domestic water supply management in Kenya, analysing policy progress, practices, and challenges within an evolving governance landscape.

Permit systems used for water authorisation were introduced in many African countries during the colonial era to protect water entitlements of settlers, with disregard for customary water tenue and local needs. These permit systems require users of water above a defined threshold to apply for permits offering formal legal water rights, therefore granting those who use water below this threshold weaker legal status. This REACH Story of Change explores a science-practitioner partnership which assesses water permit systems in Malawi, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. The findings have been presented at key international forums and gained significan media attention, influencing policy discussions on water governance reform to better support inclusive rural development and farmer-led irrigation.

Water use behaviour impacts the hygiene of water collection points which can therefore impact water quality. While previous research has focused largely on household hygiene, REACH research has demonstrated how a systematic gap between engineering and hygiene considerations in the water sector is reducing access to safe drinking water. This Story of Change explores how regular cleaning of water point spouts and taps in Bangladesh could substantially reduce the number of people who lack access to uncontaminated drinking water (currently estimated to be between 2-4 billion people worldwide).

Managing water supply systems is essential for developing countries to face climate variability in dryland settings. However, high energy costs from pumping, water loss due to aging infrastructure, and increased demand from population growth can exacerbate this challenge. In response, this study proposes a methodology that optimizes a Water Distribution Network (WDN) and its management, within the dryland urban setting of Lodwar, Kenya. The findings highlight the potential of WEN-based solutions to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of data-scarce water utilities in dryland ecosystems.

This paper aims to understand intrahousehold power dynamics and how these shape decisions around water collection and allocation. Social norms, property rights and water infrastructure all influence household members’ bargaining power and shape the context within which household decisions are made. Analysis of intrahousehold dynamics needs to go beyond considering dynamics between spouses, instead also considering others who also contribute to water collection and usage.

With an estimated 30% of Kenya's national population in either primary or secondary school, access to a safe and reliable water service in schools is central to the achievement of Kenya’s Vision 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda on both basic education and water services. This briefing note outlines policy implications of an empirical study estimating the cost to guarantee safe and reliable daily drinking water services to all schools in Kitui County, building on experience and insights from FundiFix, a professionalized water service maintenance model operating in Kenya.

This working paper offers a detailed analysis of the costs and requirements to deliver safe and reliable water services in Kitui County schools, based on a county-wide audit and financial information from a professionalized water service delivery model operating in the county. The authors use this to develop an estimate of the cost to guarantee safe and reliable daily drinking water services for all of Kenya's public schools, and provide insights into new funding models and policy developments to facilitate this important goal.

Through the BRIGHT programme, REACH partner WLRC will build upon and scale up its research on water resources management, climate science, water quality and inequalities in Ethiopia to benefit an estimated 2.5 million people directly, and over 50 million people indirectly. This Story of Change reflects on the partnerships and processes that have facilitated this success for WLRC and for Ethiopia.

This study explores how upgrading water supply infrastructure influences user behaviour in rural Mali by modelling changes in revenue and volumetric water use when handpumps are upgraded to solar kiosks. Average monthly revenue is four times higher with solar kiosks, whilst payment collections increased and remained stable after upgrading handpumps to solar kiosks.