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It wasn't until 2010 that the United Nations declared clean water a basic human right.

Perhaps it's not surprising then that so many children in developing countries die from diseases associated with dirty water and lack of sanitation.

Dani Barrington, research associate in the School of Environmental Systems Engineering, is leading an AusAID-funded program to help bring clean water and sanitation to Nepal. It is an Australia Awards Fellowship Program.

Dr Barrington worked as a volunteer in Nepal for nine months, with Engineers without Borders, developing a methodology for water safety planning in remote communities.

Now 14 Nepali water managers, including engineers and members of local water and sanitation committees, are learning about integrated water management in a four-week program run by UWA and the International Water Centre in Brisbane.

"They are in Perth for three weeks and the program includes presentations and workshops by UWA and Murdoch academics, and water practitioners from WaterCorp, the Swan River Trust and others, and field trips," Dr Barrington said.

"Our WaterCorp is recognised around the world for its best practice in many areas and the Fellows are learning a lot from the utility. They have been on a Swan River cruise, investigated small scale household technologies, visited wastewater, groundwater and wastewater recharge plants," she said.

"They can't understand what Perth people's objections are to drinking recycled water!"

Dr Barrington said Nepal officially had ‘water supply coverage' of 80 per cent. "But in reality, half of those systems don't operate properly.  And sanitation rates are less than 50 per cent. In a country of 30 million people, tens of thousands of people die from diarrhoea each year. They would be very happy to be able to drink clean recycled water."

She said the Nepali Fellows all speak very good English but they use different terminology.  "So I'm able to help them ‘translate' while they are here.

"In the industry we use the term WASH to describe integrated water management: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. They are keen on learning how to improve their piping, but they also have to learn how to work with stakeholders to design that piping.  It's all part of the integrated system.

"We are helping them to think outside the square and to look at the social side as well as the economic and environmental aspects."