| dc.description.abstract | Safe water and sanitary disposal of waste are central to good housing, living and
health conditions (WB-UNDP 1993, 1998, UNCHS 1998, GOK-UNDP 1999).
Together with other infrastructure services they enhance urban livelihood and are
a lubricant to development to the extent that absence of the same curtails
development.
This study therefore seeks to examine the impacts of uncontrolled developments
on water and sanitation services in Riruta with a view to suggesting approaches to
make it a satisfactory urban development area. The study stepped down this goal
to specific tasks or objectives namely: to examine the causes of uncontrolled
developments in Riruta, to examine the impacts of uncontrolled developments on
the water and sanitation standards, to evaluate the existing water and sanitation
standards against public health standards and environment quality standards and
finally to suggest approaches necessary to improve the water and sanitation
standards in order to make it a satisfactory urban development area. The study
formulated hypotheses that, uncontrolled developments reduces the water and
sanitation standards in Riruta and further that existing water and sanitation
standards reduces the standards of public health and environment quality.
Primary and secondary data were obtained to help fulfill the objectives of the
study. Secondary data was obtained from books, journals, working papers of
Ministry of Water Development, World Bank and United Nations Environment
Program and unpublished theses from graduate students of the University of
Nairobi. Other secondary data was obtained from the Internet. This data
introduced the researcher to the issues of urbanization, water and sanitation
service worldwide.
Primary data was obtained by undertaking a field study of Riruta from which a
sample of ninety households was taken. Interviews with key persons with
information regarding the study topic such as Nairobi City Council officers were
undertaken. The data collected was later cleaned and organized into qualitative
and quantitative data to enable ease of analysis. Descriptive statistics such as the
mode, mean and frequency distributions were then computed and presented in
charts and graphs. The relationships between variables under study were tested
using chi-square analysis.
The study found that the pressure of urbanization had pushed low and middle income
earners to Riruta in search of cheap housing. This has enhanced the rate of
subdivisions to an average 10 subdivisions in a month. The study also found a
dichotomy of planned settlements juxtaposed against unplanned!uncontrolled
settlements. This pattern of water and sanitation standards hence the standards of
public health and environment quality followed the pattern of settlements. In the
planned! controlled settlements there was no incidence of water and sanitation
related diseases while these were rampant in the uncontrolled areas. Pollution of
the environment was also intense in the uncontrolled settlements.
The study recommends a complete overhaul of the existing water and sanitation
services to enable reticulation of these services. Policy review to speed up
privatization of such services is necessary, since the water and sanitation
department of the NCC has failed to provide them adequately. A reorganization of
the settlements and enforcement of development control regulations is also
recommended in order to address the core of the problem. To this end review of
land use policy and the institutional and legal frameworks is necessary. Further
research is recommended in the areas of water quality and pollution. | en_US |
