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Project name: Drawers of Water II: Assessing Long-Term Change in Domestic Water Use in East Africa

Dates / Duration: Project Completed

Introduction:

Knowledge is scarce about the long-term trends and changes in household water use in any part of the world. This is because of the lack of quality baseline information and because of the cost and complexity of undertaking longitudinal and repeat studies. These research gaps are most acute for sub-Saharan Africa, the region whose population has the least access to improved water supply.

Drawers of Water II was a large-scale, long-term, repeat, cross-sectional study of domestic water use and environmental health in East Africa, based on the landmark book Drawers of Water (Gilbert F White, David J Bradley and Anne U White, University of Chicago Press, 1972). It concentrates on changes in domestic water use over three decades in 34 rural and urban sites in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda that reflect the diversity of environments, living conditions and water service levels found in the region. Changes in domestic water use are examined in terms of mean per capita water use levels at site and country level. As populations continue to grow rapidly, placing added pressure on already over-stretched systems and services, the long-term prospects for increasing per capita water use in the region appear limited. The original Drawers of Water study looked at the use of water for consumption, hygiene and amenities in domestic life. It also examined the direct cost of water use in monetary terms as well as the social cost of water measured in energy and time expenditure.

In 1997, a comprehensive reassessment of domestic water use and environmental health in East Africa was launched, building on the original Drawers of Water (DOW I) data and methods from the late 1960s.

Key findings/ progress to date:

At a regional level, mean daily per capita water use has declined by 30% over the last three decades, from 61.4 to 39.6 litres. This is a reflection of the almost universal drop in water use by piped households in both rural and urban areas. While water use by unpiped households has almost doubled, use by piped households has decreased by approximately 50%. Despite this decline, piped households continue to use over three times the amount of water consumed by unpiped households (during DOW I the ratio was 11:1 litres)

• In the original DoW study ‘unpiped’ and ‘piped’ sites roughly corresponded to their location in rural and urban areas. The repeat study found that this distinction no longer holds true for all households in all study sites. Several of the sites once categorised as ‘unpiped’ now have a number of households with reliable piped connections. In some sites originally classified as ‘piped’, such as Iganga in Uganda and Temeke-Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, significant numbers of unpiped households now exist. In these latter cases, the physical infrastructure is still in place but water supply systems and services no longer function properly.
• The reliability of piped water supplies has declined significantly over the last three decades in most of the study sites. Different factors contribute to this situation, including lack of system maintenance and the stress placed on existing network capacity.
• In many ways, the burden of water collection for unpiped households seems to have increased since Drawers of Water I. Women still bear primary responsibility for water collection. However, there has been an increase in child drawers as well as in the number of males, notably teenagers, collecting water for commercial purposes. The principal mode of transport is also unchanged, as women and children continue to walk to and from the source.
• The time spent queuing for water has increased significantly since DOW I, reflecting the increase in population relative to the number of sources available.
• Despite a decrease in cost of water, the reported values are still high in comparison to more developed countries.
• Estimating water costs for unpiped households is a difficult matter. This cost usually involves a direct cash price paid at the source, the time and energy expended in travelling to and from the source, and the opportunity cost of what the individuals could do if they did not have to collect water.

The most important factor affecting urban water use in East Africa is whether or not a household has access to a functioning piped system. The ‘consumption gap’ between piped and unpiped households stood at a ratio of 8:1. Three decades later, the pattern remains the same, but the ratios have changed dramatically.

It is perhaps surprising that these trends and changes are common to all three countries since each has followed a very different political trajectory since the heady days of the first East African Community in the 1960s. But past differences among them in the way water and environmental health services were provided are fast disappearing. Today, the societal arrangements for service provision are converging under the pressure of political and economic forces that originate both from outside (dependence on donors and global markets) and inside (social differentiation and political struggles) the region.

Key Publications:

The following four Drawers of Water II publications are published by IIED and available for purchase from Earthprint Ltd:

Drawers of Water: 30 Years of Change in Domestic Water Use and Environmental Health Overview
John Thompson et al., 2001
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Drawers of Water: 30 Years of Change in Domestic Water Use and Environmental Health - Kenya Country Case Study
M. Katui-Katua, 2001
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Drawers of Water: 30 Years of Change in Domestic Water Use and Environmental Health - Tanzania country case study
M.R. Mujwahuzi, 2001
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Drawers of Water: 30 Years of Change in Domestic Water Uuse and Environmental Health - Uganda Country Case Study
J.K. Tumwine, 2001
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Project supported by:

Funding for this project was made possible through the generous support of the Department for International Development (DFID) of the UK, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS) of The Netherlands, the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), Sweden, and The Rockefeller Foundation, USA.

Contact:

Sustag@iied.org

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