Assessing the willingness to pay for reliable domestic water supply via catchment management: results from a contingent valuation survey in Nairobi City, Kenya

Shortage of domestic water is a key problem in Nairobi. The Sasumua Reservoir supplies 20% of Nairobi's water. However, reservoir water quantity has been impacted by human activities. Landholders within the catchment have no incentives to take into account this impact in their decision. The objective of this study was to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) of Nairobi residents for reliable domestic water via catchment conservation. Data were collected through face-to-face surveys. A censored regression model was employed to estimate the WTP. Results show that monthly mean WTP of an average household is about 275 Kenya shillings; income, education, and age are the key variables affecting WTP; and lack of an appropriate institutional regime is the major public concern that could hinder implementation of market-based schemes.