The Water Management program works with communities to harvest and store rainwater for direct use, and/or replenish groundwater by building and restoring infrastructure in villages. AMF supports revival of traditional water bodies, construction of water storage infrastructure, and safe disposal of wastewater. AMF promotes safe drinking water for all with innovative low-cost, sustainable technologies and WASH behavior. AMF creates awareness about the need for water conservation and builds capacities of local communities for better management and long-term sustainability of their water resources. The program seeks opportunities to collaborate for continuous improvement and replication of low-cost water management interventions.

Maintaining an adequate supply of clean water represents one of the most significant challenges of the 21st Century. Agriculture accounts for more than 80 percent of water consumption and more than 50 percent of excess nutrient loads to our coastal waterways, thereby also threatening our fisheries and exacerbating human health concerns. Agriculture’s challenge to meet growing food demand while managing drought, flood and water quality risks under changing climate conditions demands audacious solutions.

Advances in sustainable water management are essential to achieving agricultural goals. Innovative engineering practices customized to local field conditions are essential to minimizing water demand, increasing terrestrial water storage and improving water quality while also enhancing crop production.

Our research programs promote stakeholder engagement with interdisciplinary scientific experts to advance precision agriculture and increase conservation practice adoption.

The Water Management program focuses on replenishing depleted underground aquifers and augmenting groundwater primarily with rainwater harvesting. This improves the availability and quality of groundwater in the long run, and provides water security to rural households. The program works with communities to revive traditional water bodies, and design and construct cost-effective recharge structures to harvest surplus monsoon runoff for either augmentation of groundwater and/or creation of surface water storage. Water resource augmentation structures include check dams, ponds, farm ponds, tanks, recharge wells, among others.

The Water Management program advocates the adoption of sustainable technologies to improve access to safe drinking water for rural communities and prevent spread of waterborne diseases. The program innovates in the drinking water treatment domain, and JalKalp bio-sand water filters and Mati Kalp water filters are two such innovations. The JalKalp filter is a low-cost, sustainable stainless steel bio-sand filter that does not rely on recurring maintenance or electric power to deliver clean drinkable water. JalKalp is effective against pathogens such as E. coli, total coliforms, parasites, microbes, and worms, as well as eliminating turbidity, iron, manganese, and arsenic contamination. MatiKalp takes care of pathogens, iron, and manganese present in water.

The Water Management program team works closely with rural communities to spread awareness on the importance of water conservation to sustain water resources, use of safe drinking water, and WASH behavior. It actively engages in awareness sessions and literacy drives with all sections of the community, including women and youth, on topics including judicious use of water, importance of managing water resources, water budgeting, household water treatment, and good hygiene and sanitation practices. It further aims to equip rural communities with knowledge and skills to effectively manage and sustain their water resources and be water secure.