Social and economic factors influencing the choice of water supply in rural Karnataka, India

India is an enormously diverse country, although the challenges of water scarcity and quality are almost ubiquitous. This paper focuses on two villages in Karnataka state where a mixed methods qualitative research approach was applied. This revealed that decision - making about water supplies was made in a top-down fashion and there was little opportunity for village members to contribute. The policies and tariff systems were extremely complex. Communities had their own social and religious beliefs about their water supplies as well. Together these may be contributing to their rejection of the government supplied water and their use of alternative, often unimproved sources and of water filters in their houses. These decisions and the reasons behind them will be further explored in an additional fieldwork campaign.