Factors Associated with Water Service Continuity for the Rural Populations of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Mozambique

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Ryan M. DuChanois, University of Cambridge; Elisabeth S. Liddle, University of Cambridge; Richard A. Fenner, University of Cambridge; Marc Jeuland, Duke University; Barbara Evans, University of Leeds; Oliver Cumming, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; Rashid U. Zaman, Oxford Policy Management; Ana V. Mujica-Pereira, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Bogotá; Ian Ross, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; Matthew Gribble, Emory University; Joe Brown, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Language: English
• Date: 2019-04-16
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2019 American Chemical Society.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b07173
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Environmental Science & Technology
• Volume: 53
• Issue: 8
• Start Page: 4355
• End Page: 4363
• Grant/Funding Information: The MPhil studentship for R.M.D. was financially supported by a Gates Cambridge Scholarship.; We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the UK Department for International Development through the VFM-WASH Consortium led by Oxford Policy Management (PO 6148).; The authors also acknowledge the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship awarded to R.M.D. M.O.G. was supported in part by funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (P30 ES019776).
• Keywords: Participation; Environmental Sciences & Ecology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Multiple imputation; Intermittent; Handpumps; Quality; Sustainability; Risks; Technology; Environmental Sciences; Engineering, Environmental; Functionality; Engineering; Science & Technology; Supply systems
• Research Categories: Engineering, Environmental; Health Sciences, Public Health; Engineering, Biomedical; Health Sciences, Occupational Health and Safety

Abstract

Access to continuous water supply is key for improving health and economic outcomes in rural areas of low- and middle-income countries, but the factors associated with continuous water access in these areas have not been well-characterized. We surveyed 4786 households for evidence of technical, financial, institutional, social, and environmental predictors of rural water service continuity (WSC), defined as the percentage of the year that water is available from a source. Multiple imputed fractional logistic regression models that account for the survey design were used to assess operational risks to WSC for piped supply, tube wells, boreholes, springs, dug wells, and surface water for the rural populations of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Mozambique. Multivariable regressions indicate that households using multiple water sources were associated with lower WSC in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Mozambique. However, the possibility must be considered that households may use more than one water source because services are intermittent. Water scarcity and drought were largely unassociated with WSC, suggesting that service interruptions may not be primarily due to physical water resource constraints. Consistent findings across countries may have broader relevance for meeting established targets for service availability as well as human health.