Domestic water consumption per capita: a case study of selected households in Nairobi.

Abstract

Global freshwater consumption has increased six fold between 1990 and 1999; this is more than twice the population growth. These statistics indicate that population alone cannot account for all the increase in water consumption. There are other interlinked variables that need to be analyzed and verified by research. Freshwater use by continents is partly based on several socioeconomic development factors, including population and climatic characteristics (Chalecki, 2002). Global efforts to manage and utilize freshwater resources in a sustainable manner have been hampered chiefly by lack of accurate information on water use for human needs in quantitative terms. This research project investigated the per capita consumption of residents of Prudential and Umoja II estates of Nairobi. The relationship between water consumption patterns and the socio-economic status of the respondents was investigated. The results showed that the socio-economic status of consumers had a significant impact on water consumption per capita. The per capita consumption in Prudential estate was found to be 119 Litres per day. The per capita consumption in Umoja II estate was found to be 58.8 Litres per day. The study also examined the role played by the size of urban households in determining the per capita domestic water consumption. This attribute of population was found to exert an insignificant influence on per capita domestic water consumption. Finally, the role that seasonal climatic changes play in determining the water consumption of city residents was analyzed. The results demonstrate that seasonal climatic changes play a critical role in domestic water consumption. This led to the conclusion that global climate change could have a significant impact on water availability and on domestic water consumption patterns.