Water Access Today and Tomorrow: Domestic Water Sustainability under Informal Water Supply Markets in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Abstract

The article examined domestic water access sustainability under informally driven water supply market, drawing on suppliers-consumers’ perspectives. Analysis was done on the capacities of the informal water suppliers for sustainable water provision, how the informal water markets operate, and clients’ perspectives of water access today and tomorrow. Four different data set were comparatively analyzed from interviews with the Municipal Water Engineer (MWE), Ward Health Officer (WHO), 3 Mtaa leaders from 3 informal settlements, interviews with 43 informal water sellers from three informal settlements, including a survey of (n = 292) clients in three informal settlements. It was realized that though informal water suppliers are sociocultural capable of providing flexible and gender-sensitive water supply services, households have unsustainable access to improved water due to the financial, hydro-technical, institutional and organizational in capacities of the informal water sellers coupled with the low financial abilities of low-income earning households to continuously purchase water for domestic activities. It was observed that informal settlements’ dwellers are less likely to meet their water supply needs in the near future if their income status together with the financial, hydro-technical, organizational and institutional capacities of the informal water sellers are not improved.

Gap Fillers or Pioneers: Informal Water Suppliers in Peri-Urban Areas of the Techiman Municipality of Ghana

“…While their activities are fast growing, existing studies in the country such as those about Ashaiman (Peloso & Morinville, 2014) do not discuss groundwater suppliers in depth and independently of other sources of informal water supply in order to understand their evolution and rationale for their operations. Similar studies of this sort are noted elsewhere (Ahlers et al, 2013;Angueletou-Marteau, 2008;Dakyaga et al, 2018;Farajalla et al, 2017;Kariuki & Schwartz, 2005;Njiru, 2003;Peloso & Morinville, 2014). Nonetheless, inspired by the study of the evolution of private independent water operators in Latin America with the conclusion that small scale providers may help reach coverage targets faster and more effectively (Solo, 2003), this study attempts to discuss the evolution of informal water suppliers with a specific focus on groundwater as a source to understand their role in promoting water supply coverage in the periurban areas of Techiman Municipality.…”

Changing Hydrosocial Cycles in Periurban India

“…Collective systems such as Water Users Associations are affected by unequal power relations creating unequal ownership and participation making most participants nothing more than 'paying customers' [83]. Informal water suppliers and markets are expensive, provide uncertain quality, have poor financial, hydrotechnological, and organizational capacities, and significantly require mobilization of social capital for access by households [84][85][86]. Thus, benefits of the market accrue to well-of communities only [19,29,87].…”

Community Management and Water Service Delivery in Africa

“…The Mobile Vendors include water tankers and trucks; pushcart and bicycle vendors who buy from a variety of water sources and resell to households. Another system is where DAWASCO supplies water to a community water public taps, managed by a Water Committee elected by the community for a three-year term [13].…”

“…Water is managed by water committees and overseen by the political leaders such as street chairpersons. In Dar es Salaam, the performance of community water projects in ensuring reliable access of water to citizens greatly depend on the performance of local political leaders [13].…”