Abstract:
This study on “Effect of Domestic Water Supply on Poverty” was conducted in four
villages of Kilolo District in Iringa Region. The overall objective of the study was to
determine the effect of domestic water supply on poverty in Kilolo District. A cross-
sectional design was adopted whereby purposive and simple random sampling methods
were used to obtain 120 respondents, sixty each from water rich and water scarce villages.
A structured questionnaire was used in data collection and checklist for collecting
information from key informants. The collected data were statistically analyzed to obtain
frequencies, means and percentages.
The study findings show that only 37.5 % of
sampled households were located within 400 metres to water sources. Households situated
within 400 metres to water sources earned a mean annual income of 1 416 367 Tshs and
those beyond 400 metres to water sources earned mean annual income of 910 307 Tshs. In
water rich villages, during dry season women spent an average of 150 minutes per day on
collecting domestic water while women from water scarce villages spent an average of
508 minutes per day. Long distance to water sources, unreliable water sources within the
villages and lack of knowledge of rain water harvesting and storage techniques were
identified by respondents as the major causes of insufficient domestic water supply.
The study recommended that the district should include rain water harvesting plan as one
of the strategies for improving water sources at village levels. Water supply systems
should be developed at village levels by cost sharing basis between the government,
communities and donors. For sustainable management of rural water supply systems, the
government and agencies concerned should put emphasis on both technical and
community building capacity. The approaches will contribute the efforts to meet the target
of supplying domestic water to the majority of households within 400 metres.
