Assessment of Household Access to Groundwater: A Case Study of Gilgil Constituency

Abstract

In 2000, the United Nations (UN) developed Millennium Development Goals (MDG) with one of its aim being to improve access of potable water supply by 2015 in developing countries. This study thus focused on Kenya’s Gilgil constituency which lies in both arid and semi-arid zones and experiences bimodal rains which are neither heavy nor reliable. With persistent shortages, water management and monitoring became essential and in current times the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is being incorporated due to its capability as an effective tool in water resources management. The study’s aim was to provide knowledge about accessible areas and gaps using cost surface analysis as well as identify other factors that influence settlement. The study utilized walk speeds as an impedance to determine cost surfaces followed by creation of service areas from water facilities using time as a measurement of access. The study established that surface friction may not have major influence on accessibility and service areas while logistic regression established that other factors strongly influence settlement apart from water availability. The study also reveals that 77% of the semi-permanent households in Gilgil have a hard time accessing water as they are outside the 30-minute walk time. TS - CrossRef