The Effect of Service Interruptions and Perceived Potability on the Demand for Publicly Supplied Water
Location
Eccles Conference Center
Event Website
http://water.usu.edu/
Start Date
3-30-2011 2:00 PM
End Date
3-30-2011 2:20 PM
Description
The scarcity of water—in both quantity and quality—is a problem not just in poor countries, but also countries considered middle-income and rich. The Kingdom of Jordan is a middle-income country trying to upgrade access and quality of public water supplies; its Zarqa Governate is home to nearly 750,000 people, 95% of whom live in urban areas currently served by water taps in homes and at public standpipes. Public water service is limited; with about half the families having access to publicly supplied potable water less than 40 hours per week. Supply disruptions and concerns about drinking water quality lead households to obtain potable and domestic water from other sources. Tanker trucks deliver bulk water by the cubic meter, while water treatment vendors provide potable water in relatively large containers of up to 20 liters. Finally, bottled water can be purchased in relatively small containers (from ~ to 4 liters). The current study examines the effects of increased availability and improved quality of publicly supplied water. We use a discrete-continuous Almost Ideal Demand System that accounts for all four of the major sources of water: the public system, tankers, vendors who sell treated water, and sources of bottled water. Some 1214 households were interviewed in Fall 2009 regarding their use and perceptions of different water sources; 948 provided complete information used in our modeling. We find that improvements in the public system will lead to increases in the quantity demanded of water from the public system. Improving hours of service from less than seven hours a day to 12 hours per day will result in a 3.9% increase in quantity demand for the full sample. Improving portability of publicly supplied water from 2.2 on the Likert scale (quite dissatisfied) to 4.0 (quite satisfied) will increase quantity demanded by 8.6% for the full sample. Simultaneous improvements in both dimensions will increase quantity demanded by over 10% for both groups. Given the low price of public water relative to other sources, these improvements in the delivery system potentially represent a large cost savings to households even as the quantity of water consumed increases.
The Effect of Service Interruptions and Perceived Potability on the Demand for Publicly Supplied Water
Eccles Conference Center
The scarcity of water—in both quantity and quality—is a problem not just in poor countries, but also countries considered middle-income and rich. The Kingdom of Jordan is a middle-income country trying to upgrade access and quality of public water supplies; its Zarqa Governate is home to nearly 750,000 people, 95% of whom live in urban areas currently served by water taps in homes and at public standpipes. Public water service is limited; with about half the families having access to publicly supplied potable water less than 40 hours per week. Supply disruptions and concerns about drinking water quality lead households to obtain potable and domestic water from other sources. Tanker trucks deliver bulk water by the cubic meter, while water treatment vendors provide potable water in relatively large containers of up to 20 liters. Finally, bottled water can be purchased in relatively small containers (from ~ to 4 liters). The current study examines the effects of increased availability and improved quality of publicly supplied water. We use a discrete-continuous Almost Ideal Demand System that accounts for all four of the major sources of water: the public system, tankers, vendors who sell treated water, and sources of bottled water. Some 1214 households were interviewed in Fall 2009 regarding their use and perceptions of different water sources; 948 provided complete information used in our modeling. We find that improvements in the public system will lead to increases in the quantity demanded of water from the public system. Improving hours of service from less than seven hours a day to 12 hours per day will result in a 3.9% increase in quantity demand for the full sample. Improving portability of publicly supplied water from 2.2 on the Likert scale (quite dissatisfied) to 4.0 (quite satisfied) will increase quantity demanded by 8.6% for the full sample. Simultaneous improvements in both dimensions will increase quantity demanded by over 10% for both groups. Given the low price of public water relative to other sources, these improvements in the delivery system potentially represent a large cost savings to households even as the quantity of water consumed increases.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/runoff/2011/AllAbstracts/35