While climate change events have disastrous effects on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) infrastructure, damages have been aggravated due to implementation errors. This has not only rendered the facilities inaccessible during extreme weather conditions but also posed public health risk due to contamination.  Hence, climate resilience must be an essential part of WaSH infrastructure planning and implementation. This includes changes in policy making, sustainable design and community awareness.  

In Tamil Nadu, India, approximately 84 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) have Underground Sewerage Systems (UGSS) with varying degrees of coverage, (20 corporations and 64 municipalities), many with populations nearing a lakh, and encounter diverse challenges in its operation and maintenance. This abstract explores the operational challenges in UGSS of selected mid-sized municipalities, while also proposing strategies for improving services, reducing environmental impact and mitigating costs by incorporating different aspects of climate resilient WaSH infrastructure.