The informal water market in cities within the Global South is expanding, thanks to drought associated water shortage challenges and other socio-hydrological factors. A midst the growth is the inherent information sig...The informal water market in cities within the Global South is expanding, thanks to drought associated water shortage challenges and other socio-hydrological factors. A midst the growth is the inherent information signal asymmetry driven mainly by the vendors’ unwillingness to share the actual quality data of their source water with their customers. As a result a big mistrust environment has been created as currently;the customers have no mechanism to verify the water quality in real time. This paper aimed at developing an android application software system to fill the gap. The system is to operate the water vending business landscape as a trusted social network site (SNS) using handheld mobile phone devices. An Agile-Scrum methodology was utilized as it allows for quick changes to the system as necessary. An android platform was chosen as the initial Operating System (OS) to run the software system due to its faster global outreach capability. Specifically, Android Studio 3.4.2 IDE running on Windows 10 was deployed. And the primary languages used within the IDE were;Kotlin for the functionality and XML for the user interface (UI). Additionally, the Firebase SDK tools were used for cloud-based database functionality. The results of the prototype include;user side access and feedback exchanges, backend side supports and other added functionalities. The paper is of the strong view that since the system works on anytime-anywhere modality, then it is possible that one can drink the informal water directly. The system is recommended for full scale trial in the affected cities.展开更多
This study aimed at identifying the most preferred water quality tracking system (WQTS) for adoption and the determining factors for the same among the Langata sub County households in Nairobi city, Kenya. Perrenial m...This study aimed at identifying the most preferred water quality tracking system (WQTS) for adoption and the determining factors for the same among the Langata sub County households in Nairobi city, Kenya. Perrenial municipal water shortage in this neighborhood has forced the residents to depend on vended water supplication but whose quality is not possible to verify at the moment. Accordingly, a mobile phone quality tracing application running on blockchain technology platform was developed to fill the gap of provenance tracking. A non-market discrete choice experiments (DCEs) model was deployed in which four-option attribute bundles;with one being the “status quo” choice were presented to each of the 382 randomly sampled respondents from the five wards within the area. Results indicated that Option 2;the communally managed WQTS emerged as the most preferred choice at 53.9%. Secondly, the male factor was identified as the major determinant to this decision. In conclusion, the study proposes for the installation of this new WQTS which will trigger a 12% adjustment of the average household’s monthly water bill. In addition, this paper recommends for a city-wide assessment of residents’ willingness to pay (WTP) for this WQTS, which it deems as an improved response to water shortage problem. Finally, the study contributes to the application of DCEs model in technology adoption literature.展开更多
Interest on the investigation of groundwater depletion threat is growing globally and Langata sub County in Nairobi, the capital city of the Republic of Kenya, is not an exception. Because of drought-induced water sho...Interest on the investigation of groundwater depletion threat is growing globally and Langata sub County in Nairobi, the capital city of the Republic of Kenya, is not an exception. Because of drought-induced water shortage, households in Langata do rely on borehole water to augment their intermittent municipal water supply system. Consequently, there is an upsurge of borehole developments as drought events unfold. Previous studies here have focused on impact of borehole depths and density yet little seems to have been done to compute the correlation coefficient between drought events data and historical borehole development records as an assessment for groundwater “grab” syndrome. This study used drought index computation method (SPI) alongside other statistical methods to seek the answer to the problem. Using 57 years of monthly rainfall data and 26 years of borehole development data, the study established that, there is a positive correlation coefficient. Similarly, a trend analysis of borehole drilling and struck water level depths indicated a positive parallel rising trend on both. Further, when the borehole distribution map and struck water level contour maps were plotted, a sign of a probable well interference during pumping was detected, which however, requires a new investigation to confirm the syndrome of groundwater depletion threat. The study has contributed to the groundwater depletion research by deploying statistical research methods for risk detection. Finally, the study has proposed for a new groundwater management policy that will encourage initiation of artificial recharge schemes for the study site and beyond.展开更多
Studies on urban water supply service improvements continue to draw interest across the world. The pressure on freshwater resources is increasing in every region in the face of an increasing demand and climate change ...Studies on urban water supply service improvements continue to draw interest across the world. The pressure on freshwater resources is increasing in every region in the face of an increasing demand and climate change dynamics. Langata sub County in Nairobi city, Kenya faces drought induced water shortage and households rely on water vending and bottled water purchases to augment the inadequate municipal water supplies. Little to our knowledge has been done to assess the cost implication of such a practice here. So the study used household survey method to collect monthly households’ water bills comprising;utility company, water tanker delivery and bottled water purchase from a randomly sampled 382 households spread within the five wards;Karen, South C, Mugumoini, Nairobi West and Nyayo Highrise. The gated communities identified are 57. Simple stochastic analysis of the data was done after data cleaning using MS Excel. It was found that the municipal water serves up to 91.15% of the total average household monthly water demand with a cost share of 27.91%. Water tanker delivery meets 8.61% of the household water demand with a cost share of 50.74%. The bottled water purchases serve 0.24% of a typical household water demand with a total cost share of 21.35%. The water supply deficit which is a mere 8.85% met by tanker deliveries and bottled water purchases has a total average cost share of 72.09%. The computed cost burden is 258%. This means that the households pay more than two and a half times extra above the utility bill per month. The study recommends a new water policy that will incorporate the role of water vendors operated on a cooperative model by the gated communities using standard guidelines.展开更多
文摘The informal water market in cities within the Global South is expanding, thanks to drought associated water shortage challenges and other socio-hydrological factors. A midst the growth is the inherent information signal asymmetry driven mainly by the vendors’ unwillingness to share the actual quality data of their source water with their customers. As a result a big mistrust environment has been created as currently;the customers have no mechanism to verify the water quality in real time. This paper aimed at developing an android application software system to fill the gap. The system is to operate the water vending business landscape as a trusted social network site (SNS) using handheld mobile phone devices. An Agile-Scrum methodology was utilized as it allows for quick changes to the system as necessary. An android platform was chosen as the initial Operating System (OS) to run the software system due to its faster global outreach capability. Specifically, Android Studio 3.4.2 IDE running on Windows 10 was deployed. And the primary languages used within the IDE were;Kotlin for the functionality and XML for the user interface (UI). Additionally, the Firebase SDK tools were used for cloud-based database functionality. The results of the prototype include;user side access and feedback exchanges, backend side supports and other added functionalities. The paper is of the strong view that since the system works on anytime-anywhere modality, then it is possible that one can drink the informal water directly. The system is recommended for full scale trial in the affected cities.
文摘This study aimed at identifying the most preferred water quality tracking system (WQTS) for adoption and the determining factors for the same among the Langata sub County households in Nairobi city, Kenya. Perrenial municipal water shortage in this neighborhood has forced the residents to depend on vended water supplication but whose quality is not possible to verify at the moment. Accordingly, a mobile phone quality tracing application running on blockchain technology platform was developed to fill the gap of provenance tracking. A non-market discrete choice experiments (DCEs) model was deployed in which four-option attribute bundles;with one being the “status quo” choice were presented to each of the 382 randomly sampled respondents from the five wards within the area. Results indicated that Option 2;the communally managed WQTS emerged as the most preferred choice at 53.9%. Secondly, the male factor was identified as the major determinant to this decision. In conclusion, the study proposes for the installation of this new WQTS which will trigger a 12% adjustment of the average household’s monthly water bill. In addition, this paper recommends for a city-wide assessment of residents’ willingness to pay (WTP) for this WQTS, which it deems as an improved response to water shortage problem. Finally, the study contributes to the application of DCEs model in technology adoption literature.
文摘Interest on the investigation of groundwater depletion threat is growing globally and Langata sub County in Nairobi, the capital city of the Republic of Kenya, is not an exception. Because of drought-induced water shortage, households in Langata do rely on borehole water to augment their intermittent municipal water supply system. Consequently, there is an upsurge of borehole developments as drought events unfold. Previous studies here have focused on impact of borehole depths and density yet little seems to have been done to compute the correlation coefficient between drought events data and historical borehole development records as an assessment for groundwater “grab” syndrome. This study used drought index computation method (SPI) alongside other statistical methods to seek the answer to the problem. Using 57 years of monthly rainfall data and 26 years of borehole development data, the study established that, there is a positive correlation coefficient. Similarly, a trend analysis of borehole drilling and struck water level depths indicated a positive parallel rising trend on both. Further, when the borehole distribution map and struck water level contour maps were plotted, a sign of a probable well interference during pumping was detected, which however, requires a new investigation to confirm the syndrome of groundwater depletion threat. The study has contributed to the groundwater depletion research by deploying statistical research methods for risk detection. Finally, the study has proposed for a new groundwater management policy that will encourage initiation of artificial recharge schemes for the study site and beyond.
文摘Studies on urban water supply service improvements continue to draw interest across the world. The pressure on freshwater resources is increasing in every region in the face of an increasing demand and climate change dynamics. Langata sub County in Nairobi city, Kenya faces drought induced water shortage and households rely on water vending and bottled water purchases to augment the inadequate municipal water supplies. Little to our knowledge has been done to assess the cost implication of such a practice here. So the study used household survey method to collect monthly households’ water bills comprising;utility company, water tanker delivery and bottled water purchase from a randomly sampled 382 households spread within the five wards;Karen, South C, Mugumoini, Nairobi West and Nyayo Highrise. The gated communities identified are 57. Simple stochastic analysis of the data was done after data cleaning using MS Excel. It was found that the municipal water serves up to 91.15% of the total average household monthly water demand with a cost share of 27.91%. Water tanker delivery meets 8.61% of the household water demand with a cost share of 50.74%. The bottled water purchases serve 0.24% of a typical household water demand with a total cost share of 21.35%. The water supply deficit which is a mere 8.85% met by tanker deliveries and bottled water purchases has a total average cost share of 72.09%. The computed cost burden is 258%. This means that the households pay more than two and a half times extra above the utility bill per month. The study recommends a new water policy that will incorporate the role of water vendors operated on a cooperative model by the gated communities using standard guidelines.
