This publication examines people, politics and the environment and their relation to drinking water supplies in rural areas. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) has become a well-established developmental sector into which domestic water naturally falls. However, efforts to improve rural water supply services may benefit from more inter-disciplinary collaboration.

Given the vast numbers of rural people with inadequate drinking water supplies, it may be time to build better synergies between WASH efforts and other work to reduce poverty, address power imbalances and improve environmental sustainability.

An improved understanding by water supply professionals and practitioners of the broader context of rural like, politics and the environment can provide a good starting point. Likewise, for those working to improve rural livelihoods, address reduce pov-erty, and ensure environmental sustainability, a basic under-standing of rural water supplies is important. This publication tries to inform both of these groups – a little.