Determinants of household participation in the management of rural water supply systems: A case from Ethiopia Aschalew D. Tigabu a , Charles F. Nicholson b , Amy S. Collick c and Tammo S. Steenhuis d a Corresponding author. Cornell University’s Integrated Watershed Management Master’s Program, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences (FALW), VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. E-mail: aschalew.tgiabu@ivm.vu.nl b Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems, 467 Business Building, Smeal College of Business, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA c USDA-ARS Pasture Systems And Watershed Management Research Unit, University Park, PA 16802-3702, USA d Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA Abstract Access to safe drinking water supply in Ethiopia is among the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa. While both govern- mental and non-governmental organizations have implemented water supply projects in recent years, many fail shortly after construction due to improper management. In this paper, we examine socio-economic, institutional and exogenous factors affecting household participation in the management of water supply systems for drinking purposes. A survey was carried out involving 16 water supply systems and 160 households within the Achefer area, in the Amhara region, Ethiopia. The results show that household contributions to water supply system man- agement are positively and significantly affected by user participation during the project design and implementation, by advocacy provided by the project and by greater household income. Thus, for drinking water systems in rural areas to be sustainable, these factors should be included when planning water supply projects. Keywords: Community participation; Ethiopia; Rural water supply; Water management; Water supply sustainability 1. Introduction Despite many years of development efforts, access to safe water supplies and sanitation services in the world continues to be extremely marginal. Over 1.2 billion (1.2  10 9 ) people worldwide (Klawitter & Water Policy 15 (2013) 985–1000 doi: 10.2166/wp.2013.160 © IWA Publishing 2013 Downloaded from https://iwaponline.com/wp/article-pdf/15/6/985/406370/985.pdf by guest on 22 May 2020