Reliability of water supplies in low and middle-income countries: A structured review of definitions and assessment criteria

Majuru, Batsirai, Suhrcke, Marc and Hunter, Paul R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5608-6144 (2018) Reliability of water supplies in low and middle-income countries: A structured review of definitions and assessment criteria. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 8 (2). pp. 142-164. ISSN 2043-9083

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Abstract

The unreliability of water supplies in developing countries is a widely recognized concern. However, unreliability means different things in the variety of literature on water supplies, and no unified definition or assessment criteria exist. We review definitions of water supply reliability used in existing literature, as well as the various ways in which it is assessed. Thirty-three papers were selected for review that reported on reliability of domestic water supply and if they were based on empirical research in developing countries. Explicit definitions of reliability are given in four out of the 33 papers reviewed. These definitions vary, but features common in them are the functionality of the water supply system itself, and the extent to which it meets the needs of water users. Assessment criteria also vary greatly, with the most common criterion in urban settings being the duration / continuity of supply in hours per day, while in rural settings, the proportion of functional water systems is commonly used. The heterogeneity in the definitions and assessment criteria found in the review is perhaps indicative of a multi-attribute nature of the concept of reliability and any unifying definition and assessment criteria might do well to take this into account.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	water supply,reliability,definition,assessment criteria,review
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Economics Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Epidemiology and Public Health Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Water Security Research Centre Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Public Health and Health Services Research (former - to 2023) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Population Health
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	09 Feb 2018 17:30
Last Modified:	19 Oct 2023 02:08
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/66258
DOI:	10.2166/washdev.2018.174

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