West Bengal Drinking Water Sector Improvement Project

ADB is supporting the government of West Bengal, through the West Bengal Drinking Water Sector Improvement Project (WBDWSIP), in four rural districts suffering from groundwater contamination with fluoride, salinity, and arsenic: Bankura, East Medinipur, and South and North 24Parganas. Through WBDWSP around 2 million people, will receive 24-7 piped water at their households from year 2022.

The project is also supported by Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund under the Urban Financing Partnership Facility, Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction.

To improve efficiency of the system, strengthen customer service, build resilience, and secure public participation, WBDWSIP introduces many innovative approaches and digital technology-driven smart water management. The source of water upstream of treatment plants will be monitored by use of “Internet of Things” (IOT) technology using inexpensive sensors readily connected to a central database, where data are further analyzed and applied for low flow (or flood) and salinity forecast and early warning. This will help Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) and Gram Panchayats (the governmental units in villages in rural India) manage water intakes to ensure overall water quality and security. Learn how the project sets a new benchmark for rural drinking water supply in India and developing Asia.