Domestic water consumption per capita: a case study of selected households in Nairobi.
Abstract
Global freshwater consumption has increased six fold between 1990 and 1999; this is
more than twice the population growth. These statistics indicate that population alone
cannot account for all the increase in water consumption. There are other interlinked
variables that need to be analyzed and verified by research. Freshwater use by continents
is partly based on several socioeconomic development factors, including population and
climatic characteristics (Chalecki, 2002).
Global efforts to manage and utilize freshwater resources in a sustainable manner have
been hampered chiefly by lack of accurate information on water use for human needs in
quantitative terms.
This research project investigated the per capita consumption of residents of Prudential
and Umoja II estates of Nairobi. The relationship between water consumption patterns
and the socio-economic status of the respondents was investigated. The results showed
that the socio-economic status of consumers had a significant impact on water
consumption per capita.
The per capita consumption in Prudential estate was found to be 119 Litres per day. The
per capita consumption in Umoja II estate was found to be 58.8 Litres per day.
The study also examined the role played by the size of urban households in determining
the per capita domestic water consumption. This attribute of population was found to
exert an insignificant influence on per capita domestic water consumption.
Finally, the role that seasonal climatic changes play in determining the water
consumption of city residents was analyzed. The results demonstrate that seasonal
climatic changes play a critical role in domestic water consumption. This led to the
conclusion that global climate change could have a significant impact on water
availability and on domestic water consumption patterns.
Citation
Masters thesis University of Nairobi 2005Publisher
University of Nairobi Department of Arts
Description
A research project done in partial fulfillment of requirements for a Master of Arts degree
in environmental planning and management