Awards Applications

15th Aug, 2024

Submission of Application & Fee

Closes: 10th November, 2024

Announcement of Award Recipients

5th March, 2025

Awards
Ceremony

21st March 2025

About Us

Water is one of the most vital components of our living environment. It regulates economic growth, social and political change, technical and scientific advances and progress, in partial and/or totality. In India, water acts as a backbone of livelihood to more than 70% of the population engaged in the agriculture sector. Also, approximately 10-15% of the population is engaged in industries directly dependent on water such as textile, leather, food processing, etc. Water, therefore, has a multitude of linkages with the country's economic health. Furthermore, through its role in food security, energy security, and health, water ensures the right to life for all citizens.

United Nations recognizes that national priorities on reliable energy, economic growth, resilient infrastructure, sustainable industrialization, consumption and production, and food security, are all inextricably linked to a sustainable supply of clean water. Considering this, the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals recognize water as the key element of sustainable development by setting a dedicated global goal for water. Goal 6 of SDGs, further specifies targets to be achieved by 2030. The significance of these targets is emphasized by the interlinkages among them, and the achievement of every target depends on the achievement of others.

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Awards Categories

The Water Sustainability Awards aim to encourage the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal on Water by way of reducing water footprint among various stakeholders through the adoption of the ‘water neutrality' approach.

The Awards are spread over multiple categories and domains within the water sector, and hence recognizes the role of multiple stakeholders. It aims to recognize and encourage various stakeholders including, but not limited to, individuals, civil society organizations, industries, municipal boards, Village Panchayats, RWAs, etc., who are leading the local movement for the Sustainable Development Goals in the most transformative, impactful and innovative way.
The Water Sustainability Awards evaluates excellence in all kinds of new ideas, approaches, processes, products, services, technologies, and other types of innovations in the water sector which can tangibly address the SDGs.

Award for efforts in facilitating the expansion of access to clean & safe water
Key focus areas covered under the theme:
  • Improving access to clean and safe water
  • Installation and expansion of piped water connections
  • Implementation of metering, leakage detection systems, etc. in the water sector
  • Water quality monitoring and management
  • Other areas focusing on access to clean & safe water
Award for efforts in facilitating the expansion of sanitation coverage
Key focus areas covered under the theme:
  • Construction of toilets in rural areas
  • Construction of toilets in urban areas
  • Construction of community toilet complexes (rural/ urban areas)
  • Services related to safe disposal of excreta
  • Awareness generation related to sanitation practices
  • Capacity building on sanitation practices
  • Reuse of treated wastewater
  • Other areas focusing on sanitation
Award for efforts in collecting, treating and reusing wastewater from households and industries
    Key focus areas covered under the theme:
  • Efforts undertaken at an individual level
  • Efforts undertaken at an industry level
  • Efforts undertaken at the community level
  • Other areas focusing on wastewater treatment & safe reuse
Award for efforts in promoting water use efficiency

1. Water Users

Award for efforts to improve water use efficiency i.e., efforts to reduce their water footprints
    A. Water Users in Industrial Sector
    Key focus areas under the theme:
  • Water conservation within your industry
  • Water conservation beyond your industry
  • Establish potential targets to reduce water consumption
  • Installation of flow meters at main pipelines
  • Installation of water efficient fixtures, dual flushing systems, etc.
  • Installation of ETP and/or STP
  • Installation of Reverse Osmosis for wastewater treatment
  • Awareness generation of employees for improving water use efficiency
  • Other areas focusing on improving WUE in industrial sector
    B. Water Users in Domestic Sector
    Key focus areas under the theme:
  • Roof-top rainwater harvesting
  • Water efficient fixtures, dual flushing systems, etc.
  • Groundwater recharge through artificial structures
  • Awareness generation activities
  • Cleaning of local water bodies
  • Liquid sewage collection, transmission, treatment, recycle and reuse
  • Other areas focusing on improving WUE in the domestic sector
    C. Water Users in Agricultural Sector
    Key focus areas under the theme:
  • Reduction in irrigation water use
  • Improving physical/economic water productivity
  • Micro irrigation systems
  • Flow measurement mechanism for fields
  • Awareness generation activities
  • Other areas focusing on improving WUE in the agricultural sector

Award for efforts in enhancing participation in water management

1. Enhancing Water Management through Community Participation

Efforts for enhancing community participation in water resource management
Key focus areas covered under the theme:
  • Set up regional management committee and support groups
  • Enhance community participation through the empowerment of local committees
  • Human resource development through training and capacity building programs
  • Adoption of water source recharging strategies
  • Finance water resources ‘development’ and ‘management’ activities
  • Other areas focusing on enhancing community participation


2. Enhancing Water Management Capabilities

Efforts for enhancing water management capabilities amongst stakeholders – community, researchers, government
Key focus areas under the theme:
  • Empower local committees through capacity building and awareness programs
  • Enhance women leadership at all institutional levels
  • Human resource development through training
  • Awareness programs on water resources ‘development’ and ‘management’ activities
  • Set up and train local support centre to disseminate knowledge
  • Other areas focusing on enhancing management capabilities
Award for efforts to protect and conserve community water structures
Key focus areas under the theme:
  • Protect or restore the extent/ area of community water structures
  • Improve ecosystem water-stress management
  • Improve ecosystem water quality
  • Improve ecosystem water quantity
  • Add to ecosystem monitoring and database generation
  • Other areas focusing on protection & restoration of community water structures
Award for efforts to promote water cooperation at different levels- intersectoral/ interstate/ international
Key focus areas under the theme:
  • Prevent future water-oriented conflicts through stakeholder capacity building programs
  • Develop Decision-Support System to regulate water resource management
  • Design guidelines and standards to regulate water use and prevent water contamination
  • Other areas focusing on water cooperation
Award for efforts in addressing traditional and emerging threats to water resources through
innovative technology
Key focus areas under the theme:
  • Access to clean & safe water
  • Water treatment
  • Wastewater treatment
  • Efficient use of water in Agriculture
  • Efficient use of water in Industry
  • Efficient use of water in Domestic Sector
  • Other areas focusing on innovation in water

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How to apply

  • After carefully reading the instructions, register yourself and fill up the application form. Upon completion of the application form, submit the application fee to complete the application process. In addition, please submit the hard copy of the application form and the supporting documents at our listed address (Refer Contact Us).
    (Note: Kindly note that this fee is non-refundable under any circumstances)
  • For further information, please contact the organizing secretary: wsa@teriin.org

Eligibility Criteria

The awards are open to individuals (Indian citizens) and organizations (registered in India/ legally permitted to work in India) who have achieved excellence in the water sector through efforts in availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

Evaluation Committee

There will be an Evaluation Committee (Jury) constituting a diverse group (belonging to different institutions/ bodies/ foundations, gender, and area expertise) of high-ranking professionals with years of experience working in the water sector. The Committee shall consist of an internal as well as an external sub-committee with each having an independent Jury of 5-8 members to be headed by the ‘Chair’ of the committee. The Chair would be an eminent person having area expertise in the different categories of awards. The Jury would make its recommendations to the Internal Steering Committee. The Steering Committee will then finalize the list of award winners based upon the selection committee’s recommendations.