An Assessment of the Existing Structure of Water Service Provision System and Water Security in Informal Settlements in Nairobi County, Kenya

Lugard Kaunda Ogaro; Stanley Omuterema; Edward Neyole

doi:10.51867/ajernet.5.3.99

Authors

Lugard Kaunda Ogaro
lugardogaro@gmail.com
Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4446-834X
Stanley Omuterema Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6381-7101
Edward Neyole Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7685-4934

Keywords:

Water Lord, Water Safety, Water Service Level, Water Service Structure, Water Stress, Water Supply

Abstract

Accessing clean water and sanitation is a constant challenge for urban residents in informal settlements and marginal areas. For most residents, informal local water and sanitation service providers meet these basic needs. These local entrepreneurs or enterprises provide services paid for directly by the clients. They are not planned, authorized, supervised, or acknowledged by the formal authorities as part of the official system. These services include water tankers, bottled water delivery, provision and management of shared or community latrines, unregistered pit emptying, container-based sanitation, or piped water to a private household or shared tap. These informal service providers, or intermediaries, have emerged in response to a significant essential service gap. Since the unstructured nature of water provision in Nairobi County is a major problem that needs to be addressed, this study evaluated the structure of the system of water service provision that is in existence in Nairobi County. The study utilized descriptive research design. The research was informed by the systems theory. Target population for the study consisted of households from the informal settlements and other water related stakeholders. Data was collected from a sample of 388 households from nine slums in 12 sub-counties derived through simple random sampling. Household questionnaires were used to collect data. The data was analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings from this study indicated that 51.0% of the respondents had no water service structure, 8.7% had basic structure, 2.9% had intermediate structure, and 37.5% of the respondents had full water service structure. It was also established that, water structure had a significant relationship with availability, access and quality. Examined, against sub-counties, there was a significant influence between water structure and the sub-counties. Based on the findings, the study concludes that, provision of infrastructure alone may not lead to household water security and recommends that while planning the development of a water supply system structures (production, treatment, storage and distribution), the decision should be based on whether the investment will improve availability, access, quantity, quality, affordability and reliability of service. Accordingly, this decision should help inform the investment by policy makers to ensure water security.

Author Biography

Lugard Kaunda Ogaro, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya

PhD Student at the Department of Disaster Management and Sustainable Development

Dimensions

REFERENCES

Adams, E. A., Byrns, S., Kumwenda, S., Quilliam, R., Mkandawire, T., & Price, H. (2022). Water journeys: Household water insecurity, health risks, and embodiment in slums and informal settlements. Social Science & Medicine, 313, 115394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115394 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115394

Agarwal, A., de los Angeles, M. S., Bhatia, R., Chéret, I., Davila-Poblete, S., Falkenmark, M., & Wright, A. (2000). Integrated water resources management (pp. 1-67). Global Water Partnership.

AWWA. (1974). Water distribution research and applied development needs. Journal of the American Water Works Association, 6(385), 385-390. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1551-8833.1974.tb05994.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1551-8833.1974.tb02035.x

Bartram, J., & Howard, G. (2003). Drinking-water standards for the developing world. In D. Mara & N. Horan (Eds.), Handbook of Water and Wastewater Microbiology (pp. 221-240). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012470100-7/50015-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012470100-7/50015-7

Black, R. E., Morris, S. S., & Bryce, J. (2003). Where and why are 10 million children dying every year? The Lancet, 361(9376), 2226-2234.

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(03)13779-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(03)13779-8

Bruggen, B. V., Vinckier, C., & Borghgraen, K. (2010). Causes of water supply problems in urbanized regions in developing countries. Water Resources Management, 24, 1885-1902. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-009-9529-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-009-9529-8

Capra, F. (2022). The organization of the living: Maturana's key insights. Constructivist Foundations, 18(1), 5-11.

Chang, C. C., & van Zyl, J. E. (2014). Optimal reliability-based design of bulk water supply systems. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 140(1), 32-39. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000323 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000296

Cronk, R., Tracy, J. W., & Bartram, J. (2024). The influence of seasonality and multiple water source use on household water service levels. Cleaner Water, 1, 100012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clwat.2023.100012 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clwat.2024.100012

Dieter, C. A., & Maupin, M. A. (2017). Public supply and domestic water use in the United States, 2015 (No. 2017-1131). U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171131 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171131

Dziegielewski, B. (2003). Strategies for managing water demand. Universities Council on Water Resources Water Resources Update, (126), 29-39.

Faldi, G., Rosati, F. N., Moretto, L., & Teller, J. (2021). A multi-perspective discourse on the sustainability of water and sanitation service co-production in Global South cities. In J. Martinez, C. A. Mikkelsen, & R. Phillips (Eds.), Handbook of Quality of Life and Sustainability (pp. 53-80). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50540-0_4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50540-0_4

Feilberg, M., & Mark, O. (2016). Integrated urban water management: Improve efficient water management and climate change resilience in cities. In Sustainable Water Management in Urban Environments (pp. 1-32). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29337-0_1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29337-0_1

Gare, A. (2000). Aleksandr Bogdanov and systems theory. Democracy & Nature, 6(3), 341-359. https://doi.org/10.1080/10855660020020230 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10855660020020230

Government of Kenya (GoK). (2016). The Water Act, 2016. The Kenya Gazette Supplement.

Griffin, R. C., & Mjelde, J. W. (2000). Valuing water supply reliability. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 82(2), 414-426.

https://doi.org/10.1111/0002-9092.00035 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/0002-9092.00035

Gulyani, S., Talukdar, D., & Kariuki, R. M. (2005). Universal (non)service? Water markets, household demand, and the poor in urban Kenya. Urban Studies, 42(8), 1247-1274. https://doi.org/10.1080/00420980500150557 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00420980500150557

Hanna-Attisha, M., LaChance, J., Sadler, R. C., & Champney Schnepp, A. (2016). Elevated blood lead levels in children associated with the Flint drinking water crisis: A spatial analysis of risk and public health response. American Journal of Public Health, 106(2), 283-290. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.303003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.303003

Hope, R. A. (2006). Evaluating water policy scenarios against the priorities of the rural poor. World Development, 34(1), 167-179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2005.07.015 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2005.07.014

Jagals, P., & Mokoena, M. M. (2010). The impact of education on water quality perception and use in a rural South African village. Journal of Water and Health, 8(2), 235-240. https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2010.125

Joshi, N., Gerlak, A. K., Hannah, C., Lopus, S., Krell, N., & Evans, T. (2023). Water insecurity, housing tenure, and the role of informal water services in Nairobi's slum settlements. World Development, 164, 106165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2023.106165 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.106165

Jouravlev, A. (2004). Drinking water supply and sanitation services on the threshold of the XXI century. ECLAC.

K'Akumu, O. A., & Appida, P. (2006). Privatization of urban water service provision: The Kenyan experiment. Water Policy, 8(4), 313-324.

https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2006.044 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2006.044

KNBS. (2019). Economic Survey. Nairobi: Government Printer.

Lai, C. H., Tan, D. T., Roy, R., Chan, N. W., & Zakaria, N. A. (2020). Systems thinking approach for analysing non-revenue water management reform in Malaysia. Water Policy, 22(2), 237-251. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2020.005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2020.165

Majuru, B. (2015). Unreliable water supplies and household coping strategies in peri-urban South Africa (Doctoral dissertation, University of East Anglia).

Marlow, D. R., Moglia, M., Cook, S., & Beale, D. J. (2013). Towards sustainable urban water management: A critical reassessment. Water Research, 47(20), 7150-7161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2013.07.046 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2013.07.046

Maryati, S., & Humaira, A. N. S. (2018). Water supply provision characteristics in peri-urban areas. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 202, 012033. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/202/1/012033 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/202/1/012033

Mollah, K. A., Nishida, K., Kondo, N., & Yamagata, Z. (2009). Children's health deficits due to diarrhoea: Effects of water supply and sanitation systems in slums with different water logging conditions. Journal of Water and Environment Technology, 7(4), 277-291.

https://doi.org/10.2965/jwet.2009.277 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2965/jwet.2009.277

Mutisya, E., & Yarime, M. (2014). Understanding the grassroots dynamics of slums in Nairobi: The dilemma of Kibera informal settlements. International Transaction Journal of Engineering, Management, & Applied Sciences & Technologies, 5(3), 151-166.

Parsons, T. (1970). On building social system theory: A personal history. Daedalus, 826-881.

Purshouse, H., Roxburgh, N., Javorszky, M., Sleigh, A., Kimani, D., & Evans, B. (2017). Effects of water source accessibility and reliability improvements on water consumption in eastern Nairobi. Waterlines, 204-215. https://doi.org/10.3362/1756-3488.17-00003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3362/1756-3488.17-00003

Rosenzweig, C., Solecki, W. D., Hammer, S. A., & Mehrotra, S. (Eds.). (2011). Climate change and cities: First assessment report of the Urban Climate Change Research Network. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511783142 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511783142

Seager, J., Agnew, J., & Roberts, M. (2012). Environment and society: A critical introduction. John Wiley & Sons.

Senge, P. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. Doubleday.

The Water Act, No. 43 (2016). Laws of Kenya. Republic of Kenya.

The World Bank. (2019). Tanzania water security for growth (P168238). https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/914081568201887071/Concept-Project-Information-Document-PID-Tanzania-Water-Security-for-Growth-P168238

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2011). Small-scale water providers in Kenya: Pioneers or predators? United Nations Development Programme.

Whitchurch, G. G., & Constantine, L. L. (2009). Systems theory. In P. Boss, W. J. Doherty, R. LaRossa, W. R. Schumm, & S. K. Steinmetz (Eds.), Sourcebook of Family Theories and Methods (pp. 325-356). Springer.

Whittington, D., Hanemann, W. M., Sadoff, C., & Jeuland, M. (2009). The challenge of improving water and sanitation services in less developed countries. Foundations and Trends in Microeconomics, 4(6), 469-609. https://doi.org/10.1561/0700000030 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1561/0700000030

Wuysang, J. E., Triweko, R. W., & Yudianto, D. (2018). Theoretical framework of urban water security in Indonesia. Journal of Civil Engineering, Science and Technology, 9(2), 136-144. https://doi.org/10.33736/jcest.993.2018 DOI: https://doi.org/10.33736/jcest.993.2018