Access to Water among Slum Dwellers in Nakuru Town, Kenya: Lessons from Kaptembwa Location

Abstract

Majority of urban residents in sub-Saharan Africa live in slums often characterised by lack of basic services such as water and sewerage.  With increasing pressures due to population growth, aging infrastructure, climate change, coupled with an unsustainable conventional water management, cities and urban areas in sub-Saharan African countries are facing enormous difficulties and will experience huge challenges in future in efficiently managing the scarce and increasingly unreliable water resources. This paper examines the level of access to water among slum dwellers in Nakuru town, Kaptembwo location, Kenya. The guiding questions the paper addresses are: (1) What is the level of households’ access to water? and (2) Has NAWASSCO met the demand for water by residents? A descriptive survey design was used and structured questionnaire administered to 280 households to collect the requisite data. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques and statistical software (SPSS) version 20. Results show that only 65.6% of the basic water requirements of the residents are met and that only 25% of the households access the minimum recommended 50 l/c/d. The low levels of investment in water infrastructure is the major explanatory reason for reduced access to water services. The paper shows that the domestic water supply in Kaptembwo is quite low according to the international standards. This situation is attributed to poor and inefficient water distribution system, unreliable and irrational rationing system, and poor management of water delivery services by NAWASSCO. This paper thus recommends that NAWASSCO should improve its distribution network and related infrastructure in order to facilitate adequate and reliable water provision to the study area. Other strategies including roof-harvesting and collection of run-off water if properly planned and managed could increase the water supply situation in the study area.

Keywords: Access, water services, water supply, slums, household, water infrastructure