Building a water company in rural Bangladesh: the challenges

As Max TapWater’s chairman Joke Le Poole put it:

“If you want to make money, do something else. The willingness to pay is limited because water must remain affordable. But the impact we make is huge.”

Behind every litre of clean water lies a constant balancing act.

Electricity shortages can leave pumps without power for much of the day. Thousands of households pay a very small monthly fee, making payment collection surprisingly labour-intensive. Leaks have to be detected quickly, often requiring technicians to travel hours to remote communities. And because piped water is still new in many villages, families must first be convinced that a household connection is worth paying for.

Challenge #1: Non-revenue water

One of the biggest challenges is non-revenue water: water that is pumped into the network but never reaches paying customers because it is lost through leaks and other inefficiencies.

To tackle this, Max TapWater has introduced digital monitoring, automated pump controls and smart dashboards. This allows them to compare the amount of water entering networks and households, making it easier to identify inconsistencies and leaks.

While the technology cannot yet pinpoint the exact location of a leak, it provides data on where problems are occurring, helping them reduce water losses, improve reliability and build a more sustainable water service for rural communities.

Challenge #2: electricity shortages

Technical challenges are equally complex. During the summer months, some rural communities receive electricity for only a few hours each day. Voltage can be too low to run the pumps efficiently and can damage the equipment. Water towers help bridge these interruptions by continuing to supply water through gravity.

To reduce dependence on the electricity grid, Max TapWater is testing solar-powered systems and battery-powered smart meters. These innovations keep water flowing while protecting the infrastructure from unstable power supplies.

Beyond improving reliability, alternative energy sources could also lower operating costs over time, making it easier to provide an affordable and financially sustainable water service to rural communities.

Challenge #4: Payment collection

Finally, collecting payments presents its own challenges. Max TapWater is gradually introducing cashless payments through Bangladesh’s mobile payment platform bKash, which has already been rolled out at 40 of its 100 water grids. This reduces the risks of handling cash, improves transparency and makes it easier to collect the small monthly water tariffs.

However, many customers in remote villages don’t own smartphones or are unfamiliar with digital payments. It’s another reminder that innovation is not just about introducing new technology, but also about ensuring people can realistically use it.

To address this, households can make payments through local bKash agents, while Max TapWater staff and community representatives help customers learn how to use the new system.

Building a financially sustainable water utility

Ultimately, all of these challenges point to one overarching goal: building a water company that can sustain itself for the long term. As Max TapWater’s chairman Joke Le Poole explained, the ambition has never been simply to build water infrastructure, but to create “a model that can really work from a business point of view”. One that generates enough revenue to maintain and improve the systems long after they have been installed.

It is a different approach from many traditional water projects, where infrastructure is often handed over to communities after a few years. By continuously improving operations, reducing water losses and investing in smarter technologies, Max TapWater is working towards a water utility that can keep delivering safe drinking water to rural communities for decades to come.