Examining the Economics of Affordability Through Water Diaries in Coastal Bangladesh

Abstract

Monitoring affordability of drinking water services is constrained by data gaps from traditional approaches that rely on cross-sectional data from infrequent, nationally representative surveys. Estimates of income or expenditure ratios spent on accessing a main source of drinking water are poorly equipped to reflect affordability in rural contexts where poor people often resort to multiple sources of varying costs, quality and distance to cope with unreliable or absent water supplies. Here, we present findings from an 18-week water diary study that documented daily water choices and expenditures of a stratified sample of 120 households in coastal Bangladesh. This intensive, longitudinal monitoring is supported by household surveys, water infrastructure mapping, hydrogeological analysis of salinity, automated rainfall measurements and interviews with diary participants. We identify five water expenditure typologies, ranging from those who always rely on unpaid and often poor-quality sources like shallow tubewells, pond sand filters and rainwater, to those who purchase vended water for drinking and cooking all year-round, spending 3–7% of total household expenditure. These behavioral dynamics are shaped by environmental, infrastructure and cultural factors, with household wealth being a weak indicator of behavior. We conclude that affordability measures should recognize the quality of service available and chosen by users across seasons, rather than being fixated on income or expenditure ratios for a main source. Measuring the latter without considering the former impedes the design of service delivery models appropriate for providing safe and reliable water supplies, at costs that users and society are willing to bear and sustain.

Socio-spatial and seasonal dynamics of small, private water service providers in Khulna district, Bangladesh

“…The purpose of this method was to capture the intra-and inter-household variations in water use behaviour, in relation to water supply infrastructure, seasonality, poverty and other idiosyncratic factors. The methodological details are discussed in Hoque and Hope (2020) and also outlined in Text A1 in the supplemental data online. An automated weather station (Oregon Scientific WMR300A Ultra-Precision Professional Weather System) was installed in Site 1 to measure daily rainfall during the water diary period.…”

Socio‐environmental confounders of safe water interventions

“…The convenience of packaged or delivered water can also undermine safe water interventions. In Sarappur Union, Bangladesh, foreign donors installed pond sand filters, but residents stopped using them in favor of more convenient vended water; the filters were not maintained and subsequently became unusable (Hoque & Hope, 2019).…”

“…Singh et al (2003) noted that pregnant and lactating mothers did not drink handpump water in some areas of rural India, but instead were given water from shallow wells that were considered more therapeutic. In rural Bangladesh, although surface water is less frequently used for drinking purposes, ponds have a special significance in rural culture and are preferred for cooking, washing, and bathing (Hoque & Hope, 2019). Aleixo, Pena, Heller, and Rezende (2019) explained that although households have piped water in rural Brazil, not all used it for drinking and cooking but instead used other sources including rainwater and unimproved sources.…”

Reflecting SDG 6.1 in Rural Water Supply Tariffs: Considering ‘Affordability’ Versus ‘Operations and Maintenance Costs’ in Malawi

“…Service providers are thus presented with sustainability issues when tariffs do not reflect the life-cycle costs of the water point and households that avoid payments. Understanding how users value water, i.e., reliability, quality, and accessibility, and creating that value is imperative to ensure water payment and deliver sustainable service delivery in the SDGs, rather than solely reducing costs [70].…”