An Evaluation of Effectiveness of Alternative Water Supply: a Case Study of Nairobi Water Central Region, Zone 1

Abstract

The Kenya Government through the local government is charged with responsibility of providing water and sanitation services. The delivery of these services has faced a number of challenges and bottlenecks prompting the introduction of commercialization which was expected to do away with the problems related to water and sanitation. These challenges facing water supply by the government has led to the development of alternative water supply enterprises that supply water to the formal and informal sector of Nairobi, therefore this study seeks to analyze causes of alternative water supply. The study was conducted in Nairobi city majorly focusing on Starehe constituency. The overall objective of the study was to assess the approaches used by the private sector in the provision of water services in the city of Nairobi where the following specific objectives were obtained: (i) To establish the influence of infrastructure on alternative approaches in the provision of water and sewerage services in Starehe constituency (ii) To find out the influence of institutional capacity on alternative approaches in the provision of water and sewerage services in Starehe constituency (iii) To examine the influence of urban sprawl on alternative approaches in the provision of water and sewerage services in Starehe constituency and (iv) To determine the influence of government policy on alternative approaches in the provision of water and sewerage services in Starehe constituency and (v) To investigate the level of satisfaction, efficiency, reliability and quality on approaches to alternative water provision in Starehe Constituency. The study adopted crosssectional design method as the form of research design where respondents were expected to answer questions administered through the questionnaire. The data used both quantitative and qualitative data obtained from the questionnaire. The study population was focused on the on the business community and the residents of Starehe constituency. These formed the target population used in the study. The study therefore targets a total of 66,108 (KNBS, 2019) conventional household of Starehe constituency and 12,540 business communities in the CBD. The study embraced a stratified sampling technique for the selection of the study respondents to participate in the study. It was appropriate for the study since the population was grouped and distributed as per the geographical locations of the election wards. The sample size was determined by Yamane (1967) formula whereby by using the formula the study discovered 399 respondents as the sample size that will be used. Data collected was primary data obtained from the original sources using self-administered questionnaires. The research also used secondary data from all available resources related to the study. The data was then analyzed where both qualitative and quantitative data analysis was used. The analyzed data was then presented in in forms of graphs and charts. There was a pilot test conducted on the 10% (n=34) of the sample population where the reliability test, KMO and Bartlett's Test, Normality Test, Multicollinearity Test and Homoscedasticity Test was conducted as test for assumptions of regression. The researcher then conducted cross-sectional design statistics such as percentages and frequency of responses after which regression analysis was conducted to give the relationship between the dependent and the independent variables. The study found out that infrastructure was the main factor that affects alternative water supply followed by institutional capacity then urban sprawl. The study established that age of the infrastructure, technological advancement and vandalism is the main reason why most residents resort to alternative water supply. The study also established that weak institutional capacity; conflicts among the existing institutions and inadequacy of the institutions were the main reasons why residents of Starehe constituency resort to alternative water supply. This means that good provision of services is not merely about infrastructure; it includes the local capacity to innovate and make appropriate choices with regard to governance and the institutional forms for building and managing it.