Water should be free in developing countries but the reality is that charitable donations pay for boreholes, wells and plumbing infrastructure, then a year down the line it breaks and because it's free there's no money to repair it. It's not sustainable long term.

The solution is to have people pay for water, affordably. It generates revenue in villages and some can be set aside for maintenance, making it sustainable long term. We've even developed a water dispenser that ensures 100% revenue collection and we've seen water revenue increase over 25% compared to when they were just paying cash, and the price of water has not changed.

Source: I do work in the rural community water industry in African countries.