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

Water

Pauline Chepchirchir Cherunya²  Christine Janezic¹  Michael Leuchner² 

[1] Siemens Stiftung, Kaiserstr. 16, Munich 80801, Germany; E-Mail:;Technische Universität München, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, Freising 85354, Germany; E-Mail:

关键词: consistency;    decentralization;    safe water;    small-scale systems;    Safe Water Enterprises (SWE);   

DOI  :  10.3390/w7105437

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

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 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.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.