{"id":247611,"date":"2025-11-12T12:22:36","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T17:22:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/?p=247611"},"modified":"2025-11-12T12:24:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T17:24:06","slug":"research-and-reflections-from-the-unc-water-and-health-conference-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/2025\/11\/12\/research-and-reflections-from-the-unc-water-and-health-conference-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Research and Reflections from the UNC Water and Health Conference 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Allison and Catherine, both part of The Water Project\u2019s Monitoring, Evaluation, Resolution, and Learning (MERL) department, recently attended the University of North Carolina<\/a> (UNC) Water and Health<\/a> Conference in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. They both had the opportunity to present posters during the conference showcasing The Water Project\u2019s work and contributions to sector research. They share their reflections from the conference and summaries of the work they presented below. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Allison (left) and Catherine (right) stand together at the 2025 UNC Water and Health Conference.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Allison\u2019s reflections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I have been fortunate enough to attend the UNC Water and Health Conference many times over the years. Each time I return to Chapel Hill, I am reminded why this gathering is so special. Participants from around the world gather to discuss research findings, new technologies, and emerging challenges. It\u2019s an opportunity to connect with colleagues across the sector, learn from one another, and identify opportunities for collaboration. The energy at this conference is contagious.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One theme that stood out to me this year was how the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WaSH<\/a>) sector is adjusting to shifts in funding. With the conclusion of USAID<\/a>\u2019s long-standing support for WaSH work around the world, the sector is adapting to navigate a new funding landscape. I greatly appreciated the opportunity to participate in sessions where experts shared their insights into what we can expect in terms of funding, monitoring requirements, and program priorities as funding continues to shift in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catherine\u2019s reflections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One example where we saw some evidence of a shift from small interventions to larger, system-level water solutions was in a conversation about water quality. Historically, much of the discussion about drinking water treatment has focused on filters \u2014 often for individual households. Lately, though, discussions have evolved to focus on the treatment of entire water systems<\/a>, often through chlorination. This removes the burden of treatment from community members, but comes with the complexities of design and implementation. However, it also might enable rural water service providers to report operational data of interest to the new types of funders Allison mentioned, and which are used by urban utilities around the world! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one seems too daunted by the increased technical challenges, though. It was great to see our colleagues working together to address these complexities, all in the name of providing better service to users of rural water supply systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allison\u2019s poster presentation on protected spring management in Western Kenya: the role of water user committees (WUCs) and landowners<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I had the opportunity to present a poster focused on the management of protected springs<\/a> and the critical role landowners play in sustaining them. We identified ten communities with protected spring projects in Western Kenya and visited them to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by their Water User Committees (WUCs), a group of volunteers who take on the day-to-day management of these water points. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With every spring protection project, our partners work with the communities to establish WUCs. Much of our training and emphasis on water point management focuses on the WUCs, but this study revealed the significant influence landowners have on both the daily operations and long-term sustainability of these systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Field Officer Joel Otuya explains maintenance of the spring to community members.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Field Officer Betty Majani demonstrates how to clean the spring area with water.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Identification of management barriers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We conducted extensive data collection with each of the ten communities that we visited. This included focus group discussions with WUCs and water users and in-depth interviews with landowners. We were able to learn more about the day-to-day management tasks that WUCs are responsible for (such as cleaning around the water point and enforcing use rules) and barriers that can make it challenging for WUCs to carry out their responsibilities effectively. We analyzed the data to identify seven key challenges facing WUCs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n