Providing Clean, Safe Water to Communities in India

Written by Amanda Davis | Sr. Manager, CR and Environment

Gen Blog | People & Impact

For eight years, we have partnered with Planet Water Foundation to help bring clean water to India’s rural population. Employee volunteers from our office in Pune have joined Planet Water staff each year on World Water Day to build AquaTowers in rural schools, not only expanding access to safe water for drinking and sanitation but also providing hygiene education for the wider community.

These efforts are part of our company-wide culture of giving, which empowers our teams to use their skills, time and passions to make an impact in their local communities. Confronting India’s growing water scarcity crisis is important to our team members in India.

The Ministry of Water Resources found that the country’s average water availability per capita qualifies the region as “water-stressed,” and even in communities that have regular access to water, it isn’t always safe to drink. Yale University’s 2024 Unsafe Drinking Water Index ranked India 144th out of 180 countries, placing people of all ages at greater risk of waterborne diseases that can cause health problems, financial hardship due to missed work and gaps in education due to missed school.

At Gen, we’re doing our part to change that. Since the start of our partnership with Planet Water, our work has:

• Provided clean, safe water to more than 15,000 people in rural India;
• Constructed eight AquaTowers and deployed accompanying hygiene education programming; and
• Implemented 13 AquaHome systems to provide clean water and lighting into homes for the first time.

Bringing Clean Water to Our Communities 

Rural regions in India are at an increased risk of water scarcity. Villagers must travel long distances to collect water from far-away access points, a responsibility that often falls on women and children. Planet Water’s AquaTower installations significantly reduce that burden, bringing water access to the center of the community.

The AquaTower is a water filtration system capable of producing 1,000 liters (~265 gallons) of clean drinking water per hour and functions as a handwashing station for students. The system is also open to the wider community, expanding access to health and hygiene resources.

This year’s build took place on March 26 at the ZPPS Valti school in Pune, which serves 116 elementary and middle-grade students in a rural community of 3,000 people. Eleven volunteers from our office in Pune joined the effort this year, further demonstrating our commitment to supporting the communities where we work and live.

"The families in our village get water from the well even if it is not safe for drinking,” said Santoshi Purushottam Sutar, a teacher at the ZPPS Valti school. “Now, we would not worry anymore about where to get clean water for our students because Gen built an AquaTower in our school.”

Improving Hygiene Community-Wide

When clean water is scarce, residents are forced to drink contaminated water, which can carry diseases and lead to frequent illness. Students and their families who are sick often miss school and work and incur higher healthcare costs. The AquaTower not only reduces the spread of disease but also helps students attend school more regularly, supporting the overall growth of the community.

This year’s project is one of dozens of similar initiatives Planet Water organized for this year’s World Water Day, all in support of progress toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 of achieving water and sanitation for all by 2030. The organization has reached more than 4.5 million people in 31 countries since 2009.

Our work with Planet Water Foundation is part of our efforts to manage our environmental impacts and empower our employees to care for the environment. You can read more about our environmental stewardship efforts in our Social Impact Report.

This grant was awarded from the Gen Foundation, a corporate advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation.