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Financing sanitation - looking for new approaches
01.10.2006
Comparing the economic situations of nineteenth century Britain and a typical developing country city today, it is clear that there cannot be the levels of public subsidy required to build a networked sewerage system as there was in the Victorian era. However, public funding can play a vital role in stimulating demand for sanitation, which then leverages investment from households and elsewhere. -
Effects of water source accessibility and reliability improvements on water consumption in eastern Nairobi
01.07.2017
Under the commitments of the UN Sustainable Development targets, there is increasing pressure on water utility providers in developing countries to improve their levels of service to consumers, especially for the rapidly growing numbers of people with lower incomes who reside in urban informal settlements. However, pressure on water resources in many regions is simultaneously increasing owing to factors such as pollution, agricultural needs, and climate change. It is therefore important to assess the impacts of improving water services on city-wide water resources. This study examines consumption data from the East African city of Nairobi, collected from households of a variety of residential neighbourhoods. The study suggests that average per capita water consumption is closely related to water source choice (i.e. tap in the dwelling, yard tap, or water vendor kiosks). Within categories of water source type, variables such as household wealth, cost of water, and education do not have significant effects on per capita consumption. It is noted that increased accessibility of water causes the upper bound of consumption to rise, but not the lower. It may therefore be theorized that having a tap in a dwelling is necessary but not sufficient to increase per capita consumption. Within the sample examined, there is no statistically significant difference in per capita consumption between water source types other than a tap in a dwelling, and it is therefore suggested that providing a yard tap to those currently without any form of water connection may have negligible impact on city-wide water consumption. -
Do under-performing water utilities need to adapt to climate change? Experience from Eastern Europe and Central Asia
01.07.2009
Climate change raises particular challenges for under-performing water and sewerage utilities. A recent review for the World Bank explored some of the likely impacts of climate change on utilities in the Eastern Europe and Central Asian region. Climate change is likely to have serious implications for the region's water resources particularly because of the increasing incidence of severe precipitation events (floods and droughts). However the review found that the investment requirements needed simply to sustain service levels and reach remaining unserved customers may be a more pressing challenge. This finding is likely to be equally relevant in many other regions. The review concluded that: future investments should focus on systems which are as flexible and decentralized as possible; ongoing efforts to strengthen utility operations should not be abandoned; and greater investment should be made in technical training and capacity building to meet the challenges of the future