We all wish for a world in which safe, affordable water is available for everyone. This sentiment is the driving force behind the United Nations’ sustainable development goal (SDG 6.1), which aims to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all. The World Bank estimates that, at current spending levels, 4.5 billion people will be in need of safe water by 2030, a number which will account to more than half of world’s projected population. These estimates are all the more exasperating when we realize that, though there may enough fresh water on the planet to achieve SDG 6.1, various obstacles stand in the way of the significant progress that must be made in order to ensure safe water globally. As a result, millions of people die each year from diseases related to inadequate safe water supply, sanitation, and hygiene.These issues become more pronounced when we consider a country like India, which is home to 1.32 billion people, approximately 18% of the the global population.India has four percent of the world’s fresh water resources. But this water is unevenly distributed (both spatially and temporally). As a result, an estimated 38 million people annually are affected by waterborne diseases, and approximately 400,000 deaths can be attributed to contaminated water. Furthermore, it is estimated that in India approximately 820 million people lack access to treated piped water, according to the 2011 Census of India. India ranks
120th out of 122 nations for its water quality, and 133rd out of 180 nations for its water availability.