This dissertation provides an authoritative account of reconstruction in the water sector after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in coastal, deltaic South India. In particular, this study examines 14 newly constructed housing settlements in the adjacent study areas of Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, and Karaikal District, Puducherry. There is currently a paucity of literature dedicated to water components of reconstruction. Thus, this study expands the discourse and posits water elements of post-disaster processes as unique and therefore deserving of increased scholarly attention. The study is informed by a multi-methods approach and a geographical perspective. The methodologies include, inter alia, qualitative and quantitative survey instruments; key informant interviews; focus group discussions; the employment of primary documents; and environmental analyses through bacteriological and chemical water quality testing. Geographically, data, information, and actions are perceived as the coalescence of localized socio-cultural, politico-economic, and environmental fabrics. This approach to viewing circumstances is imperative for dissecting the outcomes of reconstruction processes in a specific context, and consequently for understanding problems, identifying solutions, and gauging the appropriateness of particular configurations in place-based systems. This dissertation critiques the models utilized for reconstruction in the two study areas. The scales of inquiry are demographically and geo-physically similar, yet differ in political organization. It is argued that Nagapattinam executed a model of reconstruction founded on collaborative governance, while Karaikal exercised a single agency approach. Thus, various governmental agencies were responsible for specific reconstruction activities in Nagapattinam, whereas a single agency was responsible for all activities in Karaikal. In general, the latter approach, which was less layered, produced comparatively better outcomes. Moreover, both jurisdictions implemented 'hard' paths for water management and operationalized panoptic and revenue-based methods of reconstruction, albeit inefficiently. Numerous shortcomings in reconstruction outcomes were uncovered (e.g., water quality, quantity, and pressure), as were an array of organic coping mechanisms established by affectees in order to surmount such inadequacies. To that end, it is contended that: the coping mechanisms fail to remedy the condition; much of the waterscape is beyond the control of the subjects; and the governments are ultimately deficient in responding to the needs of their citizens. The post-tsunami waterscapes are also analyzed quantitatively through the development of a contextualized, multi-scalar Water Poverty Index (WPI). The WPI is deployed with three distinct weighing schemes and reveals that, on the whole, the sites situated in Karaikal generally perform better than those in Nagapattinam. Interestingly enough, the sites located in rural Nagapattinam outperform their urban counterparts. This case--primarily a product of different water treatment processes--challenges conventional rural-urban dichotomies. Given the occurrence of poor water quality, an investigation of boiling as a method of household water treatment (HWT) surfaces several barriers to and caveats of its adoption. Data indicate that boiling is less effective than could be; thus, it is argued that boiling may not be the optimal strategy for HWT. Lastly, advised by the corpus of data, this dissertation presents a novel framework for managing water components of post-disaster reconstruction. The framework identifies common project failures, can be harnessed independently or alongside existing instruments, and possesses diagnostic, management, and evaluative potential.

This project deploys a modified Water Poverty Index (WPI) in villages reconstructed after the 2004 tsunami in southeastern India. While previous measurements of access to water have advanced understandings of waterscape complexities, this modified WPI improves past efforts and deconstructs some of the previous misunderstandings and notions regarding access to water. The traditional WPI is multidimensional and seeks to measure water access in a holistic fashion; the WPI presented here employs this approach, but is adapted to include new place-based indicators (e.g., Secondary Sources). Furthermore, unlike previous iterations of the WPI, our modified index incorporates water quality testing, three weight schemes, and operates at several scales. Ultimately, the construction and arrangement of our modified WPI enables statistical analyses, geospatial analyses, and water poverty mapping -- which are absent in most prior studies-- while still remaining easy to populate and descriptively analyze among non-academicians. Statistical tests of original household level data from a total of 24 villages in Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, and Karaikal District, Puducherry, indicate significant differences between the two districts in indicator scores as well as total WPI score. Additionally, the urban and rural areas within each district were found to be significantly different in level of water poverty, and trends were similar across the three weight schemes. Multiple linear regressions show correlation of independent socioeconomic variables (i.e., Income, Education, and Assets-Networks) with the dependent indicator of Capacity, but not with the other indicators or total WPI score. Global Moran's I tests indicate positive spatial autocorrelation, demonstrating that indicator and WPI scores tend to cluster in space. Overall, the results match what was anticipated, yet serve to challenge commonly held assumptions on urban-rural hierarchies and the role of socioeconomic variables in determining water poverty. The construction, deployment, and analytical potential of this modified WPI can be used by scholars to improve existing conceptualizations and measurements of access to water, while the results can be used by local governments and nonprofits to improve resource allocation and inform spatially-targeted interventions. / Master of Science / This study uses a modified, participant-based Water Poverty Index (WPI) to measure access to water among 24 reconstructed villages in Karaikal and Nagapattinam Districts in South India. While following the traditional WPI framework, this WPI modifies previous indicators and includes new indicators such as Secondary Sources, Quality, and Quantity. The modified WPI also supports statistical analyses as well as geospatial analyses and water poverty mapping. Further differentiation of this WPI is that it applies three separate weight schemes to interpret findings. The first weight scheme is the traditional application of equal weights; the second uses best management practices, the engineering and public health literatures, and grounded observations and fieldwork to develop an ‘expert’ weight scheme; and the third ‘survey’ weight scheme adheres to participants’ rankings in terms of which WPI indicators they perceive as most important when dealing with water issues. After indicator and WPI scores were calculated, independent sample t-tests, Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests, and stepwise multiple linear regressions were conducted on all scores. The tests were also conducted at several scales and across the three weight schemes. Results show that Karaikal District significantly outperformed Nagapattinam District, urban Karaikal significantly outperformed rural Karaikal, and rural Nagapattinam significantly outperformed urban Nagapattinam (which defies previous notions of urban-rural hierarchies). The regressions failed to return high R 2 values, indicating that factors such as income and education are not correlated with WPI scores. The results from this tool can be used to aid in interventions by local governments and nonprofits to improve overall resource management.

The availability and management of water resources is a global issue, this is particularly true in countries with limited water resources, such as Palestine, which falls under the Water Stress Line (1000 m3/person/year)1. Palestine has operated under an -unstable political, economic and social conditions for more than six decades. This uncertainty has resulted in mismanagement, inefficient institutions and the over-xploitation of water resources. The main aim of this study was to produce socioeconomic indicators based on the water tariff structure in order to be pro-poor and to enable water utilities to cope with uncertainties. The study s recommendation is for a flexible, pro-poor and socially acceptable tariff structure have been based on empirical work and socio-economic data which has been collected by rigorous research and reinforced with case studies. Initial results based on a pilot survey showed that there was a 33% increase in the revenue of the water supplier equivalent to 13% of the total water costs and an increase in the number of beneficiaries that paid their bills ranging from 10.5% to 38.6%. If applied at national level, the model application based on current socioeconomic data would have a wide positive socio-economic impact in reducing poverty, financial equality, social security and reduction of the effect of uncertainties. The reform of the existing legal and institution framework are a prerequisite for the application of this kind of model. Institutional and legal reforms coupled with the application of this model, would produce a dynamic water pricing policy as part of the efforts to have an integrated water management and would serve as a tool for the national goal of poverty alleviation and food security.