Sustainable Supply of Safe Drinking Water for Underserved Households in Kenya: Investigating the Viability of Decentralized Solutions

Abstract

Water quality and safe water sources are pivotal aspects of consideration for domestic water. Focusing on underserved households in Kenya, this study compared user perceptions and preferences on water-service provision options, particularly investigating the viability of decentralized models, such as the Safe Water Enterprise (SWE), as sustainable safe drinking water sources. Results showed that among a number of water-service provision options available, the majority of households regularly sourced their domestic water from more than one source (86% Ngoliba/Maguguni, 98% Kangemi Gichagi). A majority of households perceived their water sources to be unsafe to drink (84% Ngoliba/Maguguni, 73% Kangemi Gichagi). For this reason, drinking water was mainly chlorinated (48% Ngoliba/Maguguni, 33% Kangemi Gichagi) or boiled (42% Ngoliba/Maguguni, 67% Kangemi Gichagi). However, this study also found that households in Kenya did not apply these household water treatment methods consistently, thus indicating inconsistency in safe water consumption. The SWE concept, a community-scale decentralized safe drinking water source, was a preferred option among households who perceived it to save time and to be less cumbersome as compared to boiling and chlorination. Willingness to pay for SWE water was also a positive indicator for its OPEN ACCESSWater 2015, 7 5438 preference by the underserved households. However, the long-term applicability of such decentralized water provision models needs to be further investigated within the larger water-service provision context.

The Implication of Unreliable Urban Water Supply Service: The Case of Vendor Water Cost in Langata Sub County, Nairobi City, Kenya

“…This finding mirrored an earlier similar finding on the same issue for Nairobi city where some residents were found to spend up to about 11% of their monthly income [73]. A subsequent study by [74] and later by [75] found that Nairobi city has a huge unequal and inequitable consumption of the available conventional water hence forcing residents to rely on water vending. Further, a most recent revelation by [76] showed that only 50% of Nairobi residents receive clean piped water.…”

Intermittent Domestic Water Supply: A Critical Review and Analysis of Causal-Consequential Pathways

“…Social, commercial and technical innovations can help extend the coverage and institutional creativity needed for future growth [143]. Decentralized planning may reach more people and distribute power to lower levels for creative, innovative and responsive provision programs [144], although others suggest that community management can shift perceptions of responsibility to the more visible local figures [145].…”

Economic Analysis and Feasibility of Rainwater Harvesting Systems in Urban and Peri-Urban Environments: A Review of the Global Situation with a Special Focus on Australia and Kenya

“…However, it is expected that Kenya's legal framework will soon actively promote and support the adoption of RWH systems [137]. A recent study focusing on underserved households in urban and rural Kenya, investigating the viability of decentralized models, such as the Safe Water Enterprise (SWE), reports that a maximum of 2% of their water supply presently comes from RWH systems [138].…”

“…Water scarcity is also a real problem in arid and semi-arid (ASAL) regions of Kenya [88,138]. A review of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) activities in Africa concerned with agricultural advances suggest that new skills should be developed through training and longer-term involvement with Australian scientists, implying that information alone is not sufficient and that some projects have been unsuccessful as a result of a lack of underlying skills, the long time taken to learn new techniques, and high turnover of personnel [140].…”