After the devastating earthquake of 8 October 2005 in Kashmir, international organizations provided the Pakistani government with relief and reconstruction assistance. Under the oft-cited motto 'rebuild better', many of these efforts targeted the rural areas. The emergency period was followed by a development phase, during which all actors sought to ensure that their reconstruction projects would have long-term, sustainable impacts. Based on the authors' experience during that phase, this paper offers specific guidelines for rehabilitation work on Kashmir's rural water supply system, stressing the need for analysis of the social context to guarantee sustainability of the completed projects.