Punjab state is rich in water resources but the drinking water supply is facing acute problems. A survey was carried out with the objective to highlight the water supply and sanitation problems in rural households and analyze their socio-economic implications. For this purpose 35 villages were taken from different agro-climatic regions. Apart from serious water contaminations, it is commonly observed that standing water in the village ponds and otherwise is the source of breeding mosquitoes and fleas and ultimately cause of many diseases.
The study carried out through RRA revealed that the overall annual average water requirements of water 432 lit/day for scheduled caste and 658 lit/day for other categories. It was 33% higher during summer season and minimum during rainy season. About 7% was used for human drinking and cooking, 45% for washing of cloths & bathing, 43% for livestock purposes and 6% for other purposes such as cleaning of houses and washing of vehicles. The regression analysis carried out for village level data showed that the size of scheduled caste population, livestock number and availability of private assured water supply in the house came out to be the major determinants of water usage.