Experience around the world shows the following:

. Scarce water supplies are used more sustainably if they are managed
locally.
.Local management empowers people, particularly the poor and
disadvantaged.
. Local management generally looks to more traditional rather than new
solutions.
. Local water systems must be managed within frameworks linked to
watershed management and to senior levels of government.

.Local management works best when policymakers can draw upon the
lessons of field research when making decisions.

Approaches to local water management that have proven effective include

. Small-scale water supply, such as rainwater collection;
. Wastewater treatment and reuse, to improve sanitation and provide
water suitable for irrigation;
. Community-based water quality testing, to allow isolated rural
communities to monitor their drinking water supplies;
. Watershed management and irrigation, to improve soil productivity and reduce the considerable waste from irrigation.


Local Solutions in the Global Water Crisis
 http://www.idrc.ca/media/water_crisis_e.html