This is the third of four films in our series, Asia H20: How Water Issues are Changing an Urbanized Continent.

Two decades ago, the capital city of Cambodia had virtually no water system to speak of. Few households received running water, pipes were leaky and corruption was rampant. With a change in leadership in 1993, the city’s water department set out to do what no one thought possible: build a municipal water system that would be the envy of the world. Today, not only is Phnom Penh’s water system efficient, it’s resilient, able to bounce back quickly from shocks big and small.

How Phnom Penh Built One of the World’s Best Water Systems from Next City on Vimeo.

Film shot on location in Phnom Penh by Still Life Projects.

Watch the Other Films from This Series:

Boosting Bangkok’s Flood Resilience With Community-Based Technology

Storm-Resistant Housing Saves a Neighborhood in Vietnam