Do prepaid water meters improve the quality of water service delivery? The case of Nakuru, Kenya

Abstract

Conventional water metering has a tendency of being unreliable, inaccurate, and a source of dispute and disquiet among customers, and hence it is considered to be one primary reason why water service providers perform poorly and have very low revenue collection figures. The result of this poor performance spirals into poor management, ineffective maintenance, inaccurate billing and high non-revenue water. This study explored what a prepaid metering project in Nakuru, Kenya achieved, and to see whether or not prepayment can be considered to be an innovative way of addressing these concerns, especially how to provide better service, when providing water to the urban poor. In addition, the study investigated micro financing as tools for supporting efforts by water service providers serving the poor and whether they are an effective way of financing projects. Communal prepaid meters were installed in an existing conventional network and data on commonly used performance evaluation parameters collected through interviews, field visits, and existing literature. The results portrayed prepaid metering with positive improvements to the conventional metering. It was found that there is an opportunity in microfinance for win-win partnerships among financial institutions, water service providers and low-income customers to help them in increasing access to water services. Communal prepaid meters are now bankable and viable options for serving urban poor communities.