About OxWater
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For sustainable water systems in Africa and Asia

OxWater grew out of research at Oxford University in the field of water supply at the intersection of three areas of scholarship – institutions, development and informatics. Since 2010 we have been translating novel methodological approaches into full-scale implementation in Africa and Asia in partnership with government, private sector and civil society. The group has won over £3m of international, competitive grants from UK research councils (NERC, ESRC), DFID, UNICEF and the Skoll Foundation.

Media coverage

Working towards preventing famine in the future (ITV News, March 2017)

A better way to provide drinking water in rural Africa: An innovative cure for broken pumps (The Economist, March 2017)

'Good vibration' hand pumps boost Africa's water security (BBC News, February 2017)

Ten groundbreaking university research projects (Daily Telegraph Education Gallery)

Global Development Professional Network (Guardian March 2016)

Data drip: 'Smart' handpumps send signal that water has run out (Guardian June 2013)

Smart hand pumps promise cleaner water in Africa (BBC World Service June 2012)

Researchers seek ways to improve water supply using mobile phones (Daily Nation Kenya, January 2011​)

Institutions, development, informatics

What we do

 OxWater work which is transforming policy and reducing poverty includes:
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• Water policy for poverty impacts examines large-scale, empirical data to measure and monitor welfare transitions and rural water preferences to inform better policy choices that reflect the priorities of the poor. Read more: Is community water management the community’s choice? Implications for water and development policy in Africa (Journal Paper, PDF)

 

• Machine learning algorithms: Analysing accelerometry data flows from GSM-enabled transmitters installed in rural handpumps to remotely a) estimate water usage, b) predict failure events, and c) estimate shallow-aquifer depths. Read more: Distributed Monitoring of Shallow Aquifer Level using Community Handpumps (Briefing Note, PDF), Accidental Infrastructure for groundwater monitoring in Africa (Journal Paper); View Smart Handpumps video.

 

• Rural water sustainability models using automated handpump data to design and launch the FundiFix Ltd. maintenance service company in Kenya. FundiFix Ltd. is registered and active in two counties where it has dramatically reduced repair times on community handpumps from over a month to a couple of days with communities pre-paying via mobile money operating at scale. View FundiFix video. Read more: FundiFix.

 

• Performance-based financial models which blend water user payments, government and private sector contributions to promote universal water service delivery at scale based on objective and verifiable metrics. Read more: Financial sustainability for Universal Rural Water Services - Evidence from Kyuso, Kenya (Working Paper, PDF); Water Services Maintenance Trust Fund (Leaflet, PDF) 

 

• Groundwater Risk Science to develop a replicable decision support tool to manage strategic aquifers which provide water to multiple and often competing users. In Kenya, we are partnering with rural communities, mining, irrigated agriculture and government to deliver a novel tool for long-term implementation where aquifer management is critical to protect hundreds of millions of dollars of investments to promote growth and development. Read more: Gro for Good (UPGro consortium website).