Water infrastructure governance: practices, modalities, spatialities and pricing beyond the utility in Dar es Salaam

Abstract

Cities in the global South have been typified as geographies where networked water infrastructure remains uneven in terms of coverage. They are also characterized as geographies where networked and heterogeneous non-utility-networked water infrastructure co-exist. These comprised, community shared water schemes, protected wells, boreholes with hand pumps, tanker trucks water delivery, water kiosks, pushcarts, rainwater harvesting, and private mechanized networked water infrastructure that supply water beyond the utility. While networked water infrastructures exist in tandem with these infrastructures in cities of the global South, access to water is yet problematic. In the context of rapid urbanization and climate change, urban scholars have advocated for the adoption of varied water infrastructures that supply water beyond the utility network as alternative ways to lessen the burden of networked water infrastructure. Scholarly advocacy on thinking beyond the network infrastructure, encourages policymakers and urban scholars to pay attention to non-utility-networked water infrastructures. They highlight how rainwater harvesting, groundwater, boreholes, tanker truck water supply, Community-based water schemes, and wastewater recycling just to mention a few—hold potentials for adapting water supply to the present changing socio-ecological conditions. Likewise, they demonstrate the crucial role of governance in facilitating water access within multiple water infrastructures, especially infrastructures beyond the utility network. In sub-Saharan African cities, heterogeneous non-utility-networked water infrastructures such as boreholes, shallow wells, tanker trucks for water distribution, pushcarts, and protected deep and shallow aquifers (tubes), supply water beyond the utility network. Though state governance via the institution of formal policy mechanisms and enforcement can promote public and environmental health and improve water access, the governance of water supply of the aforementioned infrastructures remains understudied and less understood in urban studies. This dissertation focuses on the governance of heterogeneous non-utility-networked water infrastructures in cities in the global South. It examines the extent to which water supply beyond the utility is governed, the practices mediating water supply of the non-utility-networked water infrastructure, and how governance of water production and distribution beyond the utility network can improve water access. I frame governance as a “practice, an act of doing” grounded in practice theory through which I, (i) explore and analyze the governance arrangements of heterogeneous non-utility-networked water infrastructures, in terms of water production and distribution beyond the utility, (ii) determine how everyday practices of non-state actors mediate the development of water infrastructures and the mechanisms that sustain such infrastructure for water supply; (iii) analyse the practice of pricing water, the mechanisms that determine water prices, and how they are regulated, and (iv) evaluate the potentials and limits of the ordinary ways in which water supply (production and distribution) beyond the utility is governed in Dar es Salaam. Drawing on an inductive approach alongside a case study strategy, I conducted interviews and surveys, Focus group discussions, and household case studies in the city of Dar es Salaam. Additionally, I developed a comprehensive framework of governance modalities, actors, and interactions within heterogeneous infrastructures as a heuristic device for analyzing non-utility-networked water infrastructures in terms of their governance. The findings reveal the existence of varied categories of water infrastructures, including privately networked water (non-utility pipe water supply systems), self-supply water infrastructure, communal/shared water infrastructure, and hydro-mobile infrastructure. The study highlights the dominant governance modes facilitating water supply beyond the utility to include (in)formal co-production, market-oriented governance and self-governance. Residents used low-cost water servicing models, including drilling and mechanizing water systems, to address water issues. Other activities included installing equipment and storage tanks, extending PVC pipelines to interested neighbours that could afford the cost, and negotiating with plumbers for water network extensions. These practices were varied based on the type of water infrastructure and the water delivery model. Prices were determined by factors specific to different water infrastructures and providers, including distance, fuel costs, vehicle maintenance, profit margins, recurring costs like electricity, material technologies, repairs, maintenance, and paying employees. These practices improved spatial access to water but were limited in terms of quality and cost. The study suggests mixed governance model: co-governance, co-management, formal co-production as means of fostering collaboration between state and non-state actors and improving water access beyond the utility network.