| Summary: | The universalization of access to water in rural communities remains a challenge in regions like the Brazilian semi-arid. Several public policies, especially the One Million Cisterns Program, has contributed since the beginning of the 2000s to achieve these goals by promoting the establishment of rainwater catchment cisterns. Despite the results in terms of increase of the access to water and the degree of innovation in its methodological design, significant changes in the conception and political-institutional arrangement of the program were observed from 2011 onwards, with the creation of the Water for All Program. Based on secondary data, evaluation reports and interviews with national and subnational managers in the states of Bahia and Pernambuco, this article examines the political process that led to such change, shedding light on its motivations, evolution and implications. In addition to the interest of analysing a process of programmatic change and dispute between state bureaucracies, including their patterns of alliances with social actors, the article discusses the challenges of policy formulation and implementation at the local level. Finally, the program is discussed with regard to the reduction of socio-environmental vulnerabilities and the need for adjustments in the face of global climate change challenges.
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