Community–Government Partnership for Metered Clean Drinking Water: A Case Study of Bhalwal, Pakistan

The case study explores the design and operation of a community–government partnership initiative for clean drinking water called Changa Pani (Clean Water) Program in Bhalwal, a small city of Pakistan. It is a joint initiative by the city government of Bhalwal and residents, facilitated by a civil society intermediary organization that has succeeded in developing and operating a viable water distribution system to supply metered clean water to residents after purely government-organized efforts did not deliver. The Changa Pani Program (CPP) appears as a manifestation of community-based adaptation to climate change, given rising temperatures, depletion/contamination of groundwater, increased spread of waterborne disease, and childhood stunting. Considering the formidable challenges of access to clean drinking water and sanitation for Pakistan and other countries working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, lessons from successful grass root level projects like CPP can be broadly valuable. The case study analyzes determinants of the initiative’s success and the opportunities and challenges for replicating the CPP for other types of infrastructure and/or service in other locations, in Pakistan, and in other rapidly urbanizing nations.