Water Availability and Reliability in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Abstract

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s water landscape is unjust, inequitable, and uneven. Water rationing and electricity outages affect water availability alongside an overall shortfall in water supply. Using household surveys and interviews, this paper shows that a majority of respondents lack a consistently reliable source of water. To cope with poor access, households alter their daily routines, consume less water, and identify and use back-up sources of water. It is crucial to understand the problems of water availability in the city in order to make more informed policy decisions and more justly provide water access.

Acknowledgements

Jennifer Mapes created the map for this manuscript. Herbert Hambati provided invaluable assistance in Dar es Salaam, and Joseph Kiwango served as the research assistant. COSTECH provided research clearance for this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

The Research Council of Kent State University Appointment funded this research.