In Kitui County, Kenya, an information gap exists on water coverage and quality of water service delivery for a large segment of the county population. To fill this gap, the Sustainable WASH Systems Learning Partnership (SWS) supported the University of Oxford to undertake a water audit in seven sub-counties from November to December 2017. The water audit located major rural water infrastructure and collected information on installation and operational performance to inform county planning, investment, institutional development, and dialogue on sustainability. The water audit mapped a total of 3,126 equipped and non-equipped water sources spread across Kitui County.
Findings suggests that investments in county water infrastructure have grown considerably, but sustainability of water services remains a challenge due in large part to infrastructure breakdown. Findings point to a need for continued monitoring and targeted support of the rural water sector — which may include integration of public-private partnership models of operation and maintenance — for sustainable drinking water services to be achieved.
Related
- Fact sheet: Adopting a Risk-Based Approach to Rural Water Supply Sustainability in Kenya
