Abstract:
In developing countries, it has become increasingly hard to keep up with the demand
for proper sanitation and water treatment. Water is an essential component of life and
its availability and quality are crucial. The daunting task facing local authorities is how
to adequately supply clean potable water to the predominantly poverty-stricken urban
dwellers. Although access to water in rural areas is lower than in urban areas, the
proportion of the poor is higher than in the urban areas. The purpose of this study was
to establish the determinants of water demand in Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi
County. The objectives of the study were to establish the effect of price, household size,
gender, income of household head, education, age and occupation on water demand in
informal settlement of Kibera in Nairobi County. The study adopted a demandresponsive
model and Stone-Geary model based on the explanatory research design.
The target population was 15,000 individuals living in the Kibera informal settlement.
Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to select respondents from
the strata. From the target population of 15,000 a sample size of 390 respondents was
selected. Data was collected using both a questionnaire and the interview guide and
thereafter analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Regression results (R2
=0.843) indicated that the determinants of water demand accounted for 84.3% of the
total variation in water demand in the informal settlement. Variables such as age (β1 =-
0.091, P<0.01); household size (β2 = 0.087, P<0.01); income (β3 = 0.456, P<0.01); price
(β4 = -0.542, P<0.01); gender (β5 = 0.105, P=0.01<); education (β6 = -0.191 (P<0.01)
and occupation (β7 = -0.079, P<0.01) had significant relationship with water demand.
Gender and income had positive and significant relationship with water demand while
price, age, education, occupation and household size had negative and significant
relationship with the demand for water. As such, the study recommends that the county
government of Nairobi should establish a price policy which corresponds to the water
demand in informal settlement. There is also need for the county government to
improve the income generating activities in the informal settlement in order for
residents to earn extra money to boost water consumption.
