Influence of Community Participation in Project Life Cycle Management on Sustainability of Rural Piped Water Supply Projects- a Case of Alego Sub-county, Siaya County, Kenya

Abstract

Piped water supply sustainability is a major concern in the rural areas due to perceived low participation of the community in which the project exists as well as costly and poor maintenance of existing systems. Despite increased investment in piped water supply by governments and donors in rural areas, water projects have not resulted in desired results, pointing to a lapse in project life cycle management. This study sought to assess the influence of community participation in project life cycle management on the sustainability of rural piped water supply projects in Alego Sub-County, Siaya County. The study objectives were: To establish the influence of community participation in project planning on sustainability of rural piped water supply projects in Alego Sub-County, Siaya County; to determine the influence of community participation in project implementation on the sustainability of rural piped water supply projects in Alego Sub-County, Siaya County; and to examine the influence of community participation in monitoring and evaluation on the sustainability of rural piped water supply projects in Alego Sub-County, Siaya County. The study population was drawn from Mbaga zone in Alego Sub-County, Siaya County and entails those households which were connected to piped water and registered as active users by the water service provider company. The population for this study consists of 270 beneficiary households and 12 water committee members making a target population of 282. A sample size of 168 respondents was selected from the study population through stratified random sampling. Beneficiary households in Mbaga zone and water committee members formed the strata for this study during sampling. The study used a mixed-method research design, employing a cross-sectional descriptive survey. Data collection was done using a closed-ended questionnaire consisting of 5-point Likert scale, and an interview guide for key informants. Content and construct validity were tested during pilot testing on 10% of the actual sample size. The reliability of the research instrument was also done through calculating Cronbach’s Alpha in SPSS which generated a value of 0.917. Descriptive statistics was employed during data analysis. The study revealed that community participation influenced the sustainability of rural piped water supply projects in Alego Sub-County, Siaya County. The study found that community participation in project planning (mean=4.15), community participation in project implementation (mean=4.06), and community participation in monitoring and evaluation (mean=3.70), all influenced sustainability of rural piped water supply projects to great extent. The study recommended that the governments, water service providers and local communities invest more resources and assure participatory approaches are adopted in water supply projects. From the study findings, it was suggested that further research need to be done on the influence of demographic factors such as level of education on participation in development projects, more so in rural areas.