Maintaining groundwater collection over the rainy season with water ATM price reductions: a study in Kitui County, Kenya

Abstract

Rainy seasons across rural sub-Saharan Africa see a dramatic reduction in the collection of groundwater from water points, exposing communities to health risks and reducing the sustainability of service providers. Kenyan water service provider FundiFix operates water points in dispersed rural communities in semi-arid Kitui County. It observes 5 to 10 times less water collected and revenues close to zero during rainy seasons. Water ATMs record precise volumes of water dispensed and allow for timely price changes. It was hypothesised that reducing the price from 3 to 1 KES per jerrycan would cheaply maintain clean water collection and possibly increase revenue. FundiFix tested this intervention over the March–April–May 2023 rainy season at three water ATM piped schemes and communicated the price reduction to users, with a fourth control unchanged. This did little to nothing to maintain the collection of water at dry season levels. This shows other practitioners that to address the seasonality challenge, price reductions need to be combined with a deeper understanding of user behaviour, which requires further study. This study only cost 100 USD in lost revenue from the reduced price. Implications for practitioners are outlined. Conditional transfers of water credit to users, rather than price reductions, are discussed.