The concept of Water Kiosks evolved in the ‘urgent workshop on drought preventive measures’ held on 26th December 2012 at Institute of Management in Government (IMG) organized by KSEOC, considering the serious drought conditions that the state was facing in the year 2012. The idea of a water kiosk is simple – a large 5000 to 10,000 litres of PVC water tank located on a pedestal in a public area with a tap attached to it. Water to the kiosk shall be filled in them by district administration from approved water sources using GPS fitted and monitored vehicles and a log book shall be maintained by the local ward member countersigned by the Village Officer concerned.
The concept was first approved vide GO (Rt) No. 5634/2015/DMD dated 8-05-2015. Subsequently during the 2016-17 drought season vide GO (Rt) No. 793/2017/DMD dated 25-2-2017 and GO (Rt) No. 852/2017/DMD dated 2-3-2017 Government approved the establishment of 5000 water kiosks.
| Sl No | District | Number | ||
| 2015 | 2017 | Total | ||
|
1 |
Thiruvanathapuram | 27 | 241 | 268 |
| 2 | Kollam | 0 | 255 | 255 |
| 3 | Pathanamthitta | 0 | 142 | 142 |
| 4 | Alappuzha | 264 | 529 | 793 |
| 5 | Kottayam | 0 | 282 | 282 |
| 6 | Idukki | 0 | 82 | 82 |
| 7 | Ernakulam | 77 | 178 | 255 |
| 8 | Thrissur | 0 | 227 | 227 |
| 9 | Palakkad | 0 | 468 | 468 |
| 10 | Malappuram | 34 | 167 | 201 |
| 11 | Kozhikode | 6 | 450 | 456 |
| 12 | Wayanad | 0 | 150 | 150 |
| 13 | Kannur | 355 | 457 | 812 |
| 14 | Kasragod | 1 | 267 | 268 |
| Total | 764 | 3895 | 4659 | |
This model offers the following advantages:
a) Reduce pilferage by making the water delivery locations fixed, delivery monitored and thereby making the transportation cost more or less fixed
b) Ensure transparency of water usage – being in public locations, the possibility of misuse of water collected from the kiosks becomes less
This method ensures that potable water is available in selected locations free of cost for the public. This model is promoted by SDMA for statewide implementation.