This book highlights unique and deeper insights into the operations of off-grid water supply
business models and the policy implications that they raise. The two key research questions of
the report are as follows: 1) What is the efficacy and sustainability of the off-grid model of
safe water availability and or delivery to consumers who don't have piped water supply? 2) What
are the key policy considerations for planning a successful off-grid model of safe water
delivery? Through the Four-Domain Framework this book does the gap analysis of the physical
operational financial and institutional domains of the few off-grid water operators in
cross-country case studies. It also includes a detailed financial analysis of the capital costs
as well as operations and maintenance costs of the different off-grid water supply models
compared to some of the piped water supply models. The final discusses the need to acknowledge
off-grid water solutions in urban water policies especially for the economically weaker
sections. The universal coverage of all by the piped water is an ultimate goal of any water
policy however in the interim there is a need to put more emphasis on off-grid water
solutions.
