Strengthening Rural Water Sustainability through Integrated Management and Stewardship: Evidence from Selected Rural Areas of Tamil Nadu

rural water sustainability, integrated water management, water stewardship, governance mechanisms, stakeholder participation, Tamil Nadu

The interplay of community participation, operational water management and stewardship behavior with local governance is a growing determinant of the sustainability of rural water.Groundwater recharge, maintenance, institutional accountability and responsible use are weak to ensure long-term water security, without infrastructure creation.In this article these interrelated aspects are analyzed with the primary data collected from 140 respondents across selected rural areas of Tamil Nadu which comprised rural households and farmers.Five constructs, that is, governance mechanisms, stakeholder participation, water management practices, stewardship practices and rural water sustainability were measured using a structured questionnaire.Descriptive statistics, Cronbach's alpha, Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression were used for data analysis.The results reveal all constructs are perceived at a moderate to high level, meaning that they are functional but not mature.The internal consistency (reliability) of the scales ranged between 0.741 and 0.809, reflecting acceptable levels.Positive and significant relationships were observed between each of the four predictors and rural water sustainability using correlation analysis.The model of regression accounted for 58.6% of the variance in the sustainability outcomes.The most important factor was found to be water management practices, followed by stewardship practices, governance mechanisms, and stakeholder participation.Rural water systems must be considered in a whole-of-system context where governance gives institutional discipline, participation gives local ownership, water management gives operational performance and conservation behavior is sustained by stewardship, the study argues.This article provides an empirically supported methodology for enhancing the water sustainability of rural water supply systems by adopting coordinated, accountable and behaviorally informed water management.