Rural water supply in the era of climate change in Kenya; the case of Kapseret Sub County, Uasin Gishu County

Abstract

There is a perception that water supply in Uasin Gishu County is reliable due to the medium to high annual rainfall amounts received in the region. However, this is not the case as rainfall is not evenly distributed throughout the year. Consequently, many rural households experience water shortage in the dry season. The aim of the study was to assess reliability and evaluate the safety of domestic water sources in Kapseret Sub County. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 404 households selected randomly from four wards in the rural part of Kapseret Sub-County and the data subjected to frequency analysisprocedure. The study established that domestic water sources include; shallow wells (92.2%), rainwater (14.4%), river (8.2%), stream (5.2%), borehole (2.0%), piped water (3.9%), dams (2.0%) and springs (1.0%). An average 44.8% of the households experience seasonal water shortage. Distance to main water sources increases from an average of 22.3 meters in the rainy season to an average of 216 meters in the rainy season. As a result, households have adopted various water conservation strategies in the dry seasons including reusing water, cleaning house and clothes periodically, watering animals and cleaning clothes at the water point, and using little amounts of water for the various activities. About 36.6 % of households use water from unprotected water sources in the rainy season compared to 41.1% in the dry season, and therefore the water is prone to contamination. An average 63.6% of the households’ fetch water manually from the source using rope and container, with only 28.7% storing water in tanks. In conclusion, water security is yet to be achieved in the area of study. It was recommended that there is need for sound investment by national and county governments towards reliable water supply in rural areas.