Public-Private Partnership to Supply Clean Drinking Water via Water ATMs
Summary
Dhaka is experiencing rapid population growth and urbanization and, as a result, the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) is unable to supply safe drinking water to residents. DWASA entered a public-private partnership with Drinkwell, a social enterprise established in 2013, to deliver clean water to residents via water ATMs which filter contaminants such as arsenic and fluoride.
The ATMs are operated by caretakers that are responsible for taking cash payments from users and loading smart cards for ATM use. The ATMs offer compelling results, including a 1% rate of non-revenue water and long lifespans, which has attracted the attention of funders including the World Bank and the Global Innovation Fund. The relatively high capital costs associated with implementing an ATM, the limited hours of operation, as well as the technical nature of the system, are challenges that require further attention to ensure continued access for all households, however, the ATMs' benefit of providing accessible and affordable water to communities is commendable and outweighs the potential downsides. Looking ahead, Drinkwell plans to continue to expand across South and Southeast Asia, including other cities in Bangladesh, India, Laos and Cambodia.
Despite a significant proportion of the population having access to water from technologically improved sources, water quality in Bangladesh is poor. Approximately 41% of all improved water sources are contaminated with E. coli and 13% of water sources also contain arsenic levels above the national legal limit due to geological reasons (GSMA, 2019). Dhaka faces similar challenges, exacerbated by the need to supply safe drinking water to around 22.5 million people. The lack of access to clean drinking water has forced a reliance on water vendors who charge variable pricing for water with no quality assurance (Drinkwell, n.d.). The limited financial, human and technical resources of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) to provide safe and clean drinking water further reinforces the reliance on water vendors.
Intervention
Established in 2013, Drinkwell is a technology-driven social enterprise that purifies and supplies clean water to communities via water ATMs (Miller, 2020). It has a public-private partnership with DWASA to operate the ATMs that provide metered dispensing of safe water through prepayment with mobile money (Drinkwell, n.d.). The ATMs allow for real-time monitoring of volume dispensed and customer usage patterns through a mobile application, which are also used to report system issues (Miller, 2020; Drinkwell, n.d.). The ATMs are open 10am to 6pm daily, with a fixed price of 40 paisa per liter (less than USD 0.01) (Drinkwell, n.d.).
The system works by having users submit an application to the Water ATM Caretaker with a security deposit of 200 Taka (USD 0.24) and, in exchange, users are given a Water Card that is used to dispense water, which is filled with funds using Near-Field Communication technology on smartphones in a pay-as-you-go approach (GSMA, 2019). Users tap the Water Card at a sensor on the ATM and the amount of water can be pre-selected or dispensed continuously until the card is removed from the sensor (GSMA, 2019). At the end of each day, an agent from the mobile money provider comes to collect cash from ATM caretakers (who are paid in cash by users to reload their Water Cards) and credits Drinkwell's account using mobile money (GSMA, 2019).
Drinkwell purifies water by using the patented HIX-Nano technology, which wastes just 1% of the water put into the system in comparison to 40-60% for other systems (e.g. reverse osmosis) (Miller, 2020; Drinkwell, n.d.). The system removes contaminants within ATMs using a gravity-fed process that lowers energy costs by 6x compared to reverse osmosis (GSMA, 2019; Drinkwell, n.d.). The system is simple and can be operated by local unskilled labor and has an average lifespan of 5 to 10 years (Drinkwell, n.d.). The compelling results have fostered political buy-in from DWASA, which has provided valuable inputs on the need to structure incentives in a way that avoids the middle-class from mostly benefiting to ensure low-income communities are included (Imagine H20, 2019). Moreover, Drinkwell is assisting in providing safe drinking water to residents in line with Dhaka's "Smart City" efforts (Drinkwell, n.d.).
Drinkwell's success has attracted investment from Danone Communities (the social investment arm of Danone), as well as the Global Innovation Fund in partnership with Unilever (Imagine H20, 2019), among others. Through the Urban Water Challenge, Imagine H20 connected Drinkwell with the World Bank's Water Global Practice, which is a platform that brings together financing, implementation and knowledge in one space while combining it with the World Bank's global knowledge with country investments (Global Waters, n.d.).
Challenges
As a technological water solution, Drinkwell ATMs are not only expensive to implement (estimated to be around USD 1,230 per unit [Root, 2019]), they also face challenges relating to hardware and software issues, which can prevent the system from correctly functioning. From "smart cards" to sensors on ATMs, there are more complex components behind the simple idea to tap a payment card to receive water, and limited information is readily available on the training programs for system operation, maintenance and upkeep to ensure staff are equipped to handle issues quickly after they arise (Root, 2019). Additionally, the relatively limited operational hours of the ATMs (10am-6pm) create challenges for some households that are not able to fetch water during that time, causing them to potentially rely on poor quality water from standpipes or water vendors.
Outcomes
Since its inception in 2013, Drinkwell has rolled out water ATMs in more than 230 locations across India, Bangladesh, Laos and Cambodia thanks to scaling via investment (Imagine H20, 2019). There are more than 300 ATMs in Dhaka alone, and Drinkwell is aiming to establish 500 systems by the end of 2022 to serve 17 million people (Danone, 2021). In addition to providing clean water to communities, Drinkwell has created more than 350 jobs for locals as Water ATM Caretakers (Miller, 2020). Thanks to Drinkwell's success in Dhaka, 90% of users reported a more positive perception of DWASA and users anecdotally reported that they felt more accountable for the water they use to reduce waste (GSMA, 2019).
References
Public-Private Partnership to Supply Clean Drinking Water via Water ATMs
Summary
Dhaka is experiencing rapid population growth and urbanization and, as a result, the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) is unable to supply safe drinking water to residents. DWASA entered a public-private partnership with Drinkwell, a social enterprise established in 2013, to deliver clean water to residents via water ATMs which filter contaminants such as arsenic and fluoride.
The ATMs are operated by caretakers that are responsible for taking cash payments from users and loading smart cards for ATM use. The ATMs offer compelling results, including a 1% rate of non-revenue water and long lifespans, which has attracted the attention of funders including the World Bank and the Global Innovation Fund. The relatively high capital costs associated with implementing an ATM, the limited hours of operation, as well as the technical nature of the system, are challenges that require further attention to ensure continued access for all households, however, the ATMs' benefit of providing accessible and affordable water to communities is commendable and outweighs the potential downsides. Looking ahead, Drinkwell plans to continue to expand across South and Southeast Asia, including other cities in Bangladesh, India, Laos and Cambodia.
Despite a significant proportion of the population having access to water from technologically improved sources, water quality in Bangladesh is poor. Approximately 41% of all improved water sources are contaminated with E. coli and 13% of water sources also contain arsenic levels above the national legal limit due to geological reasons (GSMA, 2019). Dhaka faces similar challenges, exacerbated by the need to supply safe drinking water to around 22.5 million people. The lack of access to clean drinking water has forced a reliance on water vendors who charge variable pricing for water with no quality assurance (Drinkwell, n.d.). The limited financial, human and technical resources of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) to provide safe and clean drinking water further reinforces the reliance on water vendors.
Issue
Intervention
Established in 2013, Drinkwell is a technology-driven social enterprise that purifies and supplies clean water to communities via water ATMs (Miller, 2020). It has a public-private partnership with DWASA to operate the ATMs that provide metered dispensing of safe water through prepayment with mobile money (Drinkwell, n.d.). The ATMs allow for real-time monitoring of volume dispensed and customer usage patterns through a mobile application, which are also used to report system issues (Miller, 2020; Drinkwell, n.d.). The ATMs are open 10am to 6pm daily, with a fixed price of 40 paisa per liter (less than USD 0.01) (Drinkwell, n.d.).
The system works by having users submit an application to the Water ATM Caretaker with a security deposit of 200 Taka (USD 0.24) and, in exchange, users are given a Water Card that is used to dispense water, which is filled with funds using Near-Field Communication technology on smartphones in a pay-as-you-go approach (GSMA, 2019). Users tap the Water Card at a sensor on the ATM and the amount of water can be pre-selected or dispensed continuously until the card is removed from the sensor (GSMA, 2019). At the end of each day, an agent from the mobile money provider comes to collect cash from ATM caretakers (who are paid in cash by users to reload their Water Cards) and credits Drinkwell's account using mobile money (GSMA, 2019).
Drinkwell purifies water by using the patented HIX-Nano technology, which wastes just 1% of the water put into the system in comparison to 40-60% for other systems (e.g. reverse osmosis) (Miller, 2020; Drinkwell, n.d.). The system removes contaminants within ATMs using a gravity-fed process that lowers energy costs by 6x compared to reverse osmosis (GSMA, 2019; Drinkwell, n.d.). The system is simple and can be operated by local unskilled labor and has an average lifespan of 5 to 10 years (Drinkwell, n.d.). The compelling results have fostered political buy-in from DWASA, which has provided valuable inputs on the need to structure incentives in a way that avoids the middle-class from mostly benefiting to ensure low-income communities are included (Imagine H20, 2019). Moreover, Drinkwell is assisting in providing safe drinking water to residents in line with Dhaka's "Smart City" efforts (Drinkwell, n.d.).
Drinkwell's success has attracted investment from Danone Communities (the social investment arm of Danone), as well as the Global Innovation Fund in partnership with Unilever (Imagine H20, 2019), among others. Through the Urban Water Challenge, Imagine H20 connected Drinkwell with the World Bank's Water Global Practice, which is a platform that brings together financing, implementation and knowledge in one space while combining it with the World Bank's global knowledge with country investments (Global Waters, n.d.).
Challenges
As a technological water solution, Drinkwell ATMs are not only expensive to implement (estimated to be around USD 1,230 per unit [Root, 2019]), they also face challenges relating to hardware and software issues, which can prevent the system from correctly functioning. From "smart cards" to sensors on ATMs, there are more complex components behind the simple idea to tap a payment card to receive water, and limited information is readily available on the training programs for system operation, maintenance and upkeep to ensure staff are equipped to handle issues quickly after they arise (Root, 2019). Additionally, the relatively limited operational hours of the ATMs (10am-6pm) create challenges for some households that are not able to fetch water during that time, causing them to potentially rely on poor quality water from standpipes or water vendors.
Outcomes
Since its inception in 2013, Drinkwell has rolled out water ATMs in more than 230 locations across India, Bangladesh, Laos and Cambodia thanks to scaling via investment (Imagine H20, 2019). There are more than 300 ATMs in Dhaka alone, and Drinkwell is aiming to establish 500 systems by the end of 2022 to serve 17 million people (Danone, 2021). In addition to providing clean water to communities, Drinkwell has created more than 350 jobs for locals as Water ATM Caretakers (Miller, 2020). Thanks to Drinkwell's success in Dhaka, 90% of users reported a more positive perception of DWASA and users anecdotally reported that they felt more accountable for the water they use to reduce waste (GSMA, 2019).
Issues |
|---|
Water Scarcity and Access |
Solutions |
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Affordable & Inclusive Water Access |
References
Drinkwell. (n.d.). Retrieved June 17, 2022, from https://drinkwellsystems.com/
Drinkwell. Danone Communities. (2021). Retrieved June 16, 2022, from https://www.danonecommunities.com/drinkwell/
GSMA. (2019, April). Growth in water ATMs installed and cumulative user base for Drinkwell. Mobile for Development Utilities Perspective. Retrieved June 16, 2022, from https://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Drinkwell-Building-a-network-of-purified-water-ATMs-in-Dhaka.pdf
Hix Resins. Drinkwell. (n.d.). Retrieved June 17, 2022, from https://drinkwellsystems.com/hix
Imagine H20. (2019, September 17). Reimagining drinking water beyond the pipe. Medium. Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://medium.com/imagineh2o/reimagining-drinking-water-beyond-the-pipe-5e1a360dec84
Miller, M. (2020, December 14). Drinkwell systems: Purifying drinking water for water-scarce communities. The Borgen Project. Retrieved June 17, 2022, from https://borgenproject.org/drinkwell-systems/
Root, R. (2019, October 1). Are water atms dispensing a viable solution to clean water? Devex. Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://www.devex.com/news/are-water-atms-dispensing-a-viable-solution-to-clean-water-95564
Smart City Campaign. Smart City Bangladesh. (2022). Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://smartcitybangladesh.net/
USAID. (n.d.). World Bank Water Global Practice. Global Waters. Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://www.globalwaters.org/resources/assets/world-bank-water-global-practice