The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) which caters to the drinking water needs of about 6.5 million people, is in the process of developing pilot WSPs in three sites, in collaboration with the WHO and the USEPA. A key requirement for the development of  the WSPs  and verification of their successful implementation is the establishment of health based targets. These targets are to be developed taking into account the disease burden in the community, exposures that contribute most to disease and the socioeconomic determinants of exposure to risks. The Scientific Working Group which was held recently in Hyderabad to establish Health Based Targets in support of the WSPs, considered various alternatives by which data on burden due to waterborne diseases and risks associated with them could be collected. In the absence of  institutional mechanisms to collect the required data, the Group decided that a cross-sectional survey among a representative sample of population in each of the three project areas, was the best option to collect reliable data to support the WSP. The Institute was commissioned by the WHO to carry out the study which is expected to be completed by August 2007^[1].