Meet Matthew MacRorie

Meet Matthew MacRorie

Approximately 1 billion people worldwide experience intermittent water supply (IWS) through piped networks, this causes approximately 4.5 million cases of diarrhoea every year. In addition to poor water quality, IWS results in large inequity within the distribution system as customer supply hours are highly dependent on their location. Surprisingly, the causes of intermittency are often rooted in technical or economic scarcity, not a scarcity of water. This therefore begs the question of how these human-orientated issues can be overcome to enable continuous water supply (CWS). This project will investigate the transition to continuous supply with a focus on resilience. Incorporating a long-term view will inform the development of optimal steps for transition and hope to minimise the risk of the water supply returning to intermittency. The research will involve a case study of Lahan, Nepal which currently operates IWS and hopes to provide new insights and guidance for water utilities managing IWS systems.