| dc.description.abstract | Water is at the center of economic and social development; it is vital to maintain health, grow food, manage the environment, and create jobs. Despite water’s importance, over 783 million people in the world are still without access to improved water sources. From the beginning of civilization humans have settled close to water sources. Unfortunately in many countries water is scarce or contaminated. Providing a better water supply can significantly improve the quality of life and is a source of, and the condition for, a socio-economic development. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of water reliability on community development, which was carried in Maruba water project- Machakos County. The objective of the study were; to examine how health issues of water reliability affects community development, to identify how water distribution systems affects community development, to find out how water management affects community development, to examine how water system maintenance affects community development. This study was inclined to the dependency theory. Descriptive research design was adopted for the study, Krejcie and Morgan table was used to select a sample of 306 respondents from a universe of 1,500 members of WRUA Community. Stratified sampling was used to select 4 staff members which is equivalent of 10% of staff in Machakos Water and Sewerage Company, making a total of 310 respondents. The researcher used questionnaires for WRUA community and Interview guide for staff as research instruments. Descriptive statistic was used to analyze data by use of frequencies and percentages. Statistical package for social science (SPSS) was used as tool to aid data analysis. The finding of the study shows that most community members do not have regular supply of water. The distribution systems used by Maruba dam are not efficient. Maintenance was found to be done on severally damaged pipelines only. Many respondents have ever been affected by water borne-disease. This affects their daily chores and little time is spent doing productive activities. This study has recommends the use of alternative methods of water harvesting to compliment the Maruba water supply. Government of Kenya through the ministry of water should ensure water management policies are implemented in all regions to increase water supply which may lead to reduction of health issues. Community policing can promote water catchment management. Further research can be done to establish challenges facing management of water resources in different regions. The finding of the same can be used to address the root cause of community underdevelopment. | en_US |
