As domestic water managers, the strategic need of women has been identified as havingaccess to domestic water sources that are convenient, reliable and located close to home. The needhas been addressed through installation of low cost improved water supply systems in different partsof the developing world. While the need of women as domestic water managers has been globallyarticulated and addressed, perhaps adequate attention has not been drawn to the fact that this roleis actually performed within the context of local communities where domestic water managementactivities are built upon the users’ perceived needs to be fulfilled through culturally appropriatemeans. How do cultural intricacies in local communities influence the water fetching behaviour ofwomen? What is the impact of such factors on the adoption and utilization of modern domestic watersupply systems? The paper explores the implications of local cultural realities for the effectiveness ofhandpump as a modern domestic water supply system arguing that the locally perceived water needsof women are holistic and fail to be adequately addressed through the new source. Consequently, ithas been admitted only as an ‘add on’ source, thereby hindering achievement of the basic objectiveof bringing women greater comfort, better health and socio-economic empowerment.