Effectiveness of Watershed Catchment Protection on the Provision of Water Services in Mandera County, Kenya
Abstract
The Kenya National Water Policy 2021 was designed to ensure sustainable water resource management and equitable access to clean water. However, key gaps exist in its implementation in Mandera County, where water scarcity remains a persistent challenge. This study thus evaluated the effectiveness of watershed catchment protection on the provision of water services in Mandera County. The study was anchored on transformative approach and adopted pragmatism philosophy, employing a descriptive survey research design. The target population comprised 535 participants drawn from various key stakeholders in Mandera County, including the Water Resources Authority, Mandera Office, Mandera County Companies, community leaders, representatives from the Non- Governmental Organization, County Government of Mandera Water Department, and the National Drought Management Authority. The researcher used Slovin’s formula to obtain a sample size of 229 respondents. The study used both descriptive and inferential statistical methods in analysis. The findings were presented on tables. The findings depicted coefficient of determination (R Squared) of 0.506, implying that 50.6% of the variation in the provision of water services in Mandera County is accounted for by watershed catchment protection. The ANOVA results in indicated that the model was statistically significant in explaining the effect of watershed catchment protection on the provision of water services (p< 0.05). The regression coefficient results showed a positive and statistically significant relationship between watershed catchment protection and provision of water services (β = 0.694, p = 0.007 < 0.05). The study thus recommends that Mandera county department of water services should invest in the construction, maintenance, and security of water storage infrastructure, with specific attention to underserved rural areas and watershed catchment protection.
Keywords: Watershed Catchment Protection, Water Services Provision, Environmental Conservation, Mandera County, Groundwater Recharge.
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