Improved Drought Resilience Through Continuous Water Service Monitoring and Specialized Institutions—A Longitudinal Analysis of Water Service Delivery Across Motorized Boreholes in Northern Kenya

Nick Turman-Bryant, Corey Nagel, Lauren Stover, Christian Muragijimana and Evan A. Thomas
Additional contact information
Nick Turman-Bryant: Department of Systems Science, Portland State University, Portland, OR 97207, USA
Corey Nagel: College of Nursing, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72204, USA
Lauren Stover: Sweet Sense, Inc., Nairobi 00603, Kenya
Christian Muragijimana: Sweet Sense, Inc., Nairobi 00603, Kenya
Evan A. Thomas: Mortenson Center in Global Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: Increasing frequency and severity of drought is driving increased use of groundwater resources in arid regions of Northern Kenya, where approximately 2.5 million people depend on groundwater for personal use, livestock, and limited irrigation. As part of a broader effort to provide more sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene services in the region, we have collected data related to site functionality and use for approximately 120 motorized boreholes across five counties. Using a multilevel model to account for geospatial and temporal clustering, we found that borehole sites, which counties had identified as strategic assets during drought, ran on average about 1.31 h less per day compared to non-strategic borehole sites. As this finding was contrary to our hypothesis that strategic boreholes would exhibit greater use on average compared to non-strategic boreholes, we consider possible explanations for this discrepancy. We also use a coupled human and natural systems framework to explore how policies and program activities in a complex system depend on consistent and reliable feedback mechanisms. Funding was provided by the United States Agency for International Development. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

Keywords: water services; remote monitoring; sensors; coupled human and natural systems; Kenya (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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