| dc.description.abstract | Access to safe water supply has been one of the top priorities in developing countries over the
past three to four decades and billions of dollars have been invested in pursuit of the goal of
"universal service" and yet the current reality is far from that goal. Local authorities in Kenya
have adopted privatization as a strategy for efficient and effective management and delivery of
water services. The poor have not come to terms with the new water policy that emphasizes
cost recovery. They view water as a basic need and human right and feel that the government
has the responsibility of ensuring that it is available, accessible, adequate, safe and affordable.
Water is widely viewed as a social and not economic good. Water utilities often serve only a
fraction of the urban population with the vast majority relying on alternative sources. The poor
households rely on vending systems and often pay vendors 2-10 times unit price paid by the
connected households. The specific objectives were to; assess the level of accessibility to water
services by urban residents; evaluate the affordability of privatized water services by the urban
poor; and analyse the quality of water consumed by urban residents. The study has used both
primary and secondary sources of data. The researcher sampled 367 from 8583 households
distributed in the four categories, namely; high income, middle income, low income planned
and low income unplanned residential estates in Municipality of Kisumu. Interviews were also
conducted with key informants inc.luding KIWASCO as well as LVSWSB officials. The data
was analyzed using ANOVA to assess the difference in the expenditure on and demand for
water within and between the estates. Correlation Analysis has also been used to assess the
degree of association between household income and water use amongst the residents, while ttest
was used to determine the level of water affordability. The study found out that the
proportion of households with access to safe water supply within a distance of 200m is 77.1 per
cent and only 65.6 per cent of the basic water requirements of the households are met. The
mean daily per capita water use is 32.92 litres compared with the WHO recommended 50l1e/d,
with the high income households using about 2.5 times more than the unplanned settlement:
households. Private in-house piped connection is the most important, yet only 19.8 per cent of
the sampled households use them as their primary source. Vast majority of the households
depend on either vendors or kiosks as their primary source· of water. Based on 5 per cent
benchmark ratio, the study revealed that 75.7 per cent of the households find the cost of water
unaffordable. The study further found out that the proportion of a household's income or
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budget spent on water service and affordability are negatively correlated and that expenditure
on water constitutes a significant household budget, just like rent, fees and food. The majority
of the households felt that, despite the good impressions of taste, smell and colour of water,
they still found it necessary to treat their water either by boiling or use of chemicals. The study
concludes that the proportion of households with access to safe water in the study area is quite
low, below even the national average and the residents have to contend with multiple sources
meet the daily water demand. The total water requirement of the households can be determined
from the data collected and KIW ASCO would have a better sense of how much water to
produce. The expenditure on water constitutes a significant household budget and based on of
5 per cent benchmark ratio, % of the residents find the cost of water unaffordable. The study
recommends that to expand access to safe water services there is need for upfront investment
on rehabilitation and extension of existing water network in addition to upgrading of treatment
plant, thus reducing the cost of maintenance and unaccounted for water and making better use
of economies of scale. New water ethics and demand-based service delivery should also be
adopted for better management and services. Surveillance tests by other bodies like NEMA,
WSB and KEBS should also be intensified through establishment of more test points and
frequent regular tests both at the end points as well as treatment plant. | en_US |
