July 2025
REAL-Water Resource Hub
Welcome to the REAL-Water Resource Hub. Rural Evidence and Learning for Water (REAL-Water) was a USAID-funded applied research program that studied how to achieve safer and more sustainable rural water supply in low-and middle-income countries. Designed and originally executed as a five-year program (September 2021–September 2026) led by Aquaya, REAL-Water was terminated in February 2025 along with the vast majority of USAID’s overseas development assistance programs.
REAL-WATER RESOURCE HUB
Improving Management Performance
Desk Study Professionalizing Rural Water
Report A Legal and Policy Review of Rural Water Services in Indonesia
Report Emerging Findings in Rural Water Service Management
Report Improving Rural Water Services in Peru
Report Is Consolidation the Answer to Improving Rural Water Services in Low-Income Countries?
Report Performance of Rural Piped Water Supply Facilities in Rural Ghana
Water Resources Management
Dataset Integrated District-level Water Quality and Scarcity Estimates for India
Report Baseline Land Data Assimilation System for Peninsular India
Report Planning for India’s Rural Water Development in the Jal Jeevan Mission Era
Video Series Science Roundtable: Climate and Water Resources Modeling in India
Water Safety Management
Baseline Assessment Evaluation of Water Safety Plans in Rural Ghana
Baseline Assessment Evaluating Water Quality Assurance Funds in Ghana
Baseline Assessment Evaluating Water Quality Assurance Funds in Kenya
Baseline Assessment Evaluating Water Quality Assurance Funds in Tanzania
Blog Enhancing Water Safety in Uganda: REAL-Water Fosters Urban-Rural Collaboration
Blog Expanding Professional Testing Services to Small Water Suppliers
Blog Rural Water Innovation and its Ripple Effect: Informal Water Operators Ready to Embrace Clean Water
Brief Institutional Framework for Water Supply Kenya
Brief Institutional Framework for Water Supply Tanzania
Brief Institutional Framework for Water Supply Uganda
Manual Water Quality Assurance Fund Implementation
Publication Ghana’s Water Safety Journey: A Review of Efforts Toward a Risk-Based Water Quality Management
Publication Centralized or Onsite Testing? Examining the Costs of Water Quality Monitoring in Rural Africa
Report Synthesis of Water Safety Planning Efforts in Ghana
Video Strengthening Water Quality Testing in Rural Areas: The Water Quality Assurance Fund
Cross-Cutting
Blog 9 Tech Innovations to Watch in Rural Water Supply
Report Financial Innovations for Rural Water Supply in Low-resource Settings
Brief Financial Innovations for Rural Water Supply – Learning Note
Report Technological Innovations for Rural Water Supply in Low-resource Settings
Brief Technological Innovations for Rural Water Supply – Brief
Management Opportunities Report Southern Madagascar Water Assessment: Strategic Interventions for Improving Water Supply
Technical Report Southern Madagascar Water Assessment: Ensuring Sustainable Access to Clean Water
Podcasts
Episode 0 Welcome to the REAL-Water Podcast
Episode 1 A New Law, a Billion Dollar Loan Fund, and the Path to Better-Run Water Utilities
Episode 2 An Audacious Plan to Deliver Safe, Reliable Water to All of Rural Benin … Profitably
Episode 3 Keeping it REAL for the Future of Rural Water Services Delivery
Episode 4 Nature-Based Solutions: Triple Wins for Water, Biodiversity, and Livelihoods
Quick Summary Centralized or Onsite Testing? Examining the Costs of Water Quality Monitoring in Rural Africa
The REAL-Water Resource Hub consolidates research under the Rural Evidence and Learning for Water (REAL-Water) project, which was supported by a cooperative agreement between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and The Aquaya Institute. The contents of this post are the sole responsibility of The Aquaya Institute and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
