Households Willingness to Pay for Reliable and Sustainable Water Supply in Addis Ababa

Abstract

Though the Addis Ababa city administration has been undertaking a number of
initiatives, the existing potable water supply of the city could not satisfy the
growing demand for water. The debate that arise from this unmet demand is
whether households are willing to pay for the improved and reliable water
supply if projects come with a full coverage of cost of water supply. Therefore,
the objective of this study is to estimate the household willingness to pay for
reliable and sustainable water supply and its determinants in Addis Ababa.
Primary data were collected from 384 randomly selected households using
Contingent Valuation Method through Double Bounded Dichotomous Choice
format and discussed via interval regression analysis. The calibrated mean
willingness to pay is 56.66 cents/ jerrycan (a 2o lit. plastic jar) for a reliable and
sustainable water supply. This is higher than the current water tariff in Addis
Ababa and driving forces of such willingness should be considered well to
enhance households’ willingness to pay for reliable and sustainable water.