Rural water usage in East Africa: Does collection effort really impact basic access?
Access to water for domestic use is a serious impediment to the development of East Africa. Throughout the region, it is common for rural residents to travel distances more than two kilometers every day in search of water sources. Such a burden has led many to the conclusion that per capita water usage must be correlated to water accessibility - those who have poor access will not use as much water. This paper aims to investigate this through a study of water usage in rural East Africa. The study queried participants in three districts of Uganda and one province of Kenya about their water usage habits. The first survey found that rural Ugandans use an average of 15.4 ± 0.5 liters per person per day regardless of their perceived effort in terms of collection times or distances travelled. Results are supported by two smaller studies in Kenya's Eastern Province and in Rakai District, Uganda. In all of these studies, there was no decline in water collected with increasing perceived collection effort. These results suggest that for these communities, the quantity of water used may not depend on the perceived collection effort. Instead, users collect water to fulfill their basic needs.Anderson, E. and Hagos, F. (2008) Economic impacts of access to water and sanitation in Ethiopia: Evidence from the welfare monitoring surveys, RiPPLE Working Paper 3, RiPPLE, Addis Ababa.
Cairncross, S. and Cliff, J.L. (1987) ‘Water use and health in Mueda, Mozambique’, Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 81(1): 51-4 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0035-9203(87)90280-X≯.
Cairncross, S. and Feachem, R.G. (1983) Environmental Health Engineering in the Tropics: An Introductory Text, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester.
Colman, A.M. and Pulford, B.D. (2008) A Crash Course in SPSS for Windows, 4th edn, Blackwell Publishing, Chichester, UK.
George, D. and Mallery, G. (2006) SPSS for Windows Step by Step, Allyn & Bacon, Boston, MA.
Gleick, P.H. (1996) ‘Basic water requirements for human activities: Meeting basic needs’, Water International 21(2): 83-92 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02508069608686494≯.
Hadjer, K., Klein, T. and Schopp, M. (2005) ‘Water consumption embedded in its social context, north-western Benin’, Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C 30(6-7): 357-364 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2005.06.014≯.
Howard, G. and Bartram, J. (2003) Domestic Water Quantity, Service Level and Health, World Health Organization, New York.
Kennedy, P.M. (2006) An Analysis of the Relationship Between Water Accessibility, Use and Health in Muthara, Kenya, Master's Degree Report, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI.
Mellor, J. (2010) Access to Water and Sanitation Facilities and the Health of Ugandans: Results from Two Studies in Rural Uganda, VDM Verlag Dr. Muller GmbH & Co. KG, Saarbrucken, Germany.
Salkind, N.J. (2007) Statistics for People Who Think They Hate Statistics, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Thompson, J. (2001) Drawers of Water II: 30 Years of Change in Domestic Water Use & Environmental Health in East Africa, Summary, IIED, London.
WELL (1998) Guidance Manual on Water Supply and Sanitation Programmes, WEDC, Loughborough, UK.
WHO and UNICEF (2005) Water for Life: Making it Happen, World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund, Geneva.
Anderson, E. and Hagos, F. (2008) Economic impacts of access to water and sanitation in Ethiopia: Evidence from the welfare monitoring surveys, RiPPLE Working Paper 3, RiPPLE, Addis Ababa.
Cairncross, S. and Cliff, J.L. (1987) ‘Water use and health in Mueda, Mozambique’, Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 81(1): 51-4 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0035-9203(87)90280-X≯.
Cairncross, S. and Feachem, R.G. (1983) Environmental Health Engineering in the Tropics: An Introductory Text, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester.
Colman, A.M. and Pulford, B.D. (2008) A Crash Course in SPSS for Windows, 4th edn, Blackwell Publishing, Chichester, UK.
George, D. and Mallery, G. (2006) SPSS for Windows Step by Step, Allyn & Bacon, Boston, MA.
Gleick, P.H. (1996) ‘Basic water requirements for human activities: Meeting basic needs’, Water International 21(2): 83-92 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02508069608686494≯.
Hadjer, K., Klein, T. and Schopp, M. (2005) ‘Water consumption embedded in its social context, north-western Benin’, Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C 30(6-7): 357-364 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2005.06.014≯.
Howard, G. and Bartram, J. (2003) Domestic Water Quantity, Service Level and Health, World Health Organization, New York.
Kennedy, P.M. (2006) An Analysis of the Relationship Between Water Accessibility, Use and Health in Muthara, Kenya, Master's Degree Report, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI.
Mellor, J. (2010) Access to Water and Sanitation Facilities and the Health of Ugandans: Results from Two Studies in Rural Uganda, VDM Verlag Dr. Muller GmbH & Co. KG, Saarbrucken, Germany.
Salkind, N.J. (2007) Statistics for People Who Think They Hate Statistics, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Thompson, J. (2001) Drawers of Water II: 30 Years of Change in Domestic Water Use & Environmental Health in East Africa, Summary, IIED, London.
WELL (1998) Guidance Manual on Water Supply and Sanitation Programmes, WEDC, Loughborough, UK.
WHO and UNICEF (2005) Water for Life: Making it Happen, World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund, Geneva.
Anderson, E. and Hagos, F. (2008) Economic impacts of access to water and sanitation in Ethiopia: Evidence from the welfare monitoring surveys, RiPPLE Working Paper 3, RiPPLE, Addis Ababa.
Cairncross, S. and Cliff, J.L. (1987) ‘Water use and health in Mueda, Mozambique’, Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 81(1): 51-4 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0035-9203(87)90280-X≯.
Cairncross, S. and Feachem, R.G. (1983) Environmental Health Engineering in the Tropics: An Introductory Text, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester.
Colman, A.M. and Pulford, B.D. (2008) A Crash Course in SPSS for Windows, 4th edn, Blackwell Publishing, Chichester, UK.
George, D. and Mallery, G. (2006) SPSS for Windows Step by Step, Allyn & Bacon, Boston, MA.
Gleick, P.H. (1996) ‘Basic water requirements for human activities: Meeting basic needs’, Water International 21(2): 83-92 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02508069608686494≯.
Hadjer, K., Klein, T. and Schopp, M. (2005) ‘Water consumption embedded in its social context, north-western Benin’, Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C 30(6-7): 357-364 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2005.06.014≯.
Howard, G. and Bartram, J. (2003) Domestic Water Quantity, Service Level and Health, World Health Organization, New York.
Kennedy, P.M. (2006) An Analysis of the Relationship Between Water Accessibility, Use and Health in Muthara, Kenya, Master's Degree Report, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI.
Mellor, J. (2010) Access to Water and Sanitation Facilities and the Health of Ugandans: Results from Two Studies in Rural Uganda, VDM Verlag Dr. Muller GmbH & Co. KG, Saarbrucken, Germany.
Salkind, N.J. (2007) Statistics for People Who Think They Hate Statistics, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Thompson, J. (2001) Drawers of Water II: 30 Years of Change in Domestic Water Use & Environmental Health in East Africa, Summary, IIED, London.
WELL (1998) Guidance Manual on Water Supply and Sanitation Programmes, WEDC, Loughborough, UK.
WHO and UNICEF (2005) Water for Life: Making it Happen, World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund, Geneva.
Anderson, E. and Hagos, F. (2008) Economic impacts of access to water and sanitation in Ethiopia: Evidence from the welfare monitoring surveys, RiPPLE Working Paper 3, RiPPLE, Addis Ababa.
Cairncross, S. and Cliff, J.L. (1987) ‘Water use and health in Mueda, Mozambique’, Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 81(1): 51-4 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0035-9203(87)90280-X≯.
Cairncross, S. and Feachem, R.G. (1983) Environmental Health Engineering in the Tropics: An Introductory Text, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester.
Colman, A.M. and Pulford, B.D. (2008) A Crash Course in SPSS for Windows, 4th edn, Blackwell Publishing, Chichester, UK.
George, D. and Mallery, G. (2006) SPSS for Windows Step by Step, Allyn & Bacon, Boston, MA.
Gleick, P.H. (1996) ‘Basic water requirements for human activities: Meeting basic needs’, Water International 21(2): 83-92 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02508069608686494≯.
Hadjer, K., Klein, T. and Schopp, M. (2005) ‘Water consumption embedded in its social context, north-western Benin’, Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C 30(6-7): 357-364 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2005.06.014≯.
Howard, G. and Bartram, J. (2003) Domestic Water Quantity, Service Level and Health, World Health Organization, New York.
Kennedy, P.M. (2006) An Analysis of the Relationship Between Water Accessibility, Use and Health in Muthara, Kenya, Master's Degree Report, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI.
Mellor, J. (2010) Access to Water and Sanitation Facilities and the Health of Ugandans: Results from Two Studies in Rural Uganda, VDM Verlag Dr. Muller GmbH & Co. KG, Saarbrucken, Germany.
Salkind, N.J. (2007) Statistics for People Who Think They Hate Statistics, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Thompson, J. (2001) Drawers of Water II: 30 Years of Change in Domestic Water Use & Environmental Health in East Africa, Summary, IIED, London.
WELL (1998) Guidance Manual on Water Supply and Sanitation Programmes, WEDC, Loughborough, UK.
WHO and UNICEF (2005) Water for Life: Making it Happen, World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund, Geneva.
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