| dc.description.abstract | Sustainability of Water Supply initiatives have been launched around the world with
the aim of managing water resources. In Kenya, the enactment of the Water Act 2002
and its subsequent revision in 2016, introduced the involvement of Water Resource
Users Associations (WRUAs) in water resource management in the Tana Catchment
Area. The WRUAs are community based associations for collective management of
water resources and resolution of conflicts concerning use within a river basin.
Information from the Water Resource Authority show that although WRUAs have
been in existence for a long time, equitable water distribution has not been achieved
in rural areas and water flow in the river basins shows decreasing trends. Previous
studies conducted on water in Tana Catchment Area mainly examined water
governance, water utilization and participation of users but did not focus on the
effectiveness of strategies used by WRUAs in the promotion of sustainable water
projects. This study sought to assess the strategies used by WRUAs in promoting
sustainable water projects. Specific objectives of the study examined the relationship
between resource mobilization strategies, infrastructure maintenance strategies,
conflict management strategies, and catchment management strategies in promoting
sustainable water projects. The study also examined the moderating effect of
institutional support on the relationship between WRUA strategies and the
sustainability of water projects. Five hypotheses in line with the five specific
objectives were tested to determine the relation between the variables. The theoretical
framework to guide the study were: the theory of common pool resource management
and institutional analytical framework. The study used convergent research design
and mixed methods approach to conduct the study. A sample of 377 respondents
comprising of 5 officers of the Water Resource Authority, 48 WRUA committee
members and 324 water users were selected using cluster, purposive and random
sampling techniques. Questionnaires and interview schedule were used in data
collection. Cronbach‟s Alpha Co-efficient test of reliability from 0.621 to 0.901 was
applied for all variables. The data obtained was analyzed with descriptive and
inferential statistics aided with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version
19.0). Chi-square test for independence was used to determine the significance of
relationship between each WRUA strategy and sustainability of water projects. Binary
logistic regression models constructed at a 5 % level of significance was used for
testing the moderation effect of institutional support. The study‟s findings revealed
that there was a significant association between three WRUA strategies (resource
mobilization, infrastructure maintenance and conflict management) and sustainability
of water projects. Water catchment management strategy was found to be
insignificantly associated with sustainability of water projects. Institution support had
a positive significant moderation effect on the relationship between water catchment
management and sustainability of water projects. These study concludes that WRUA
strategies should be adequately implemented to augment the sustainability of water
projects. The study recommended that WRUAs should leverage on mobilizing
support from all stakeholders to mobilize resources in order to promote sustainable
water projects. | en_US |
