Haitians’ willingness to invest in rainwater infrastructure

Abstract

The use of rainwater is a reliable alternative for reducing clean water consumption and water bills. This study assessed the willingness of Haitians to invest in rainwater infrastructure (RWI). A questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions was used for this purpose. For closed-ended questions, ‘0’ and ‘1’ were used for negative and positive answers, respectively. Other numbers were used to encode the open-ended questions. The two-tailed Z-test was used to compare two proportions, where a result was statistically significant when the p-value was less than 0.05. Of 362 rainwater users, 81.2% used it for washing, bathing, cooking, flushing, and drinking. Approximately 73.4% of households with 1–3 people, compared with 84.0% of families with 4–6 people, used rainwater. Of all the respondents, 82.3% would invest in RWI if the government agreed to finance up to 50.0% of the project. More than 73.0% of respondents in each locality would invest in rainwater in RWI under the conditions previously mentioned. It is concluded that the implementation of RWI and decentralization of water systems would be welcomed by the rainwater users in Haiti, but the unwillingness of the Haitian government could be the main barrier to such a transition. HIGHLIGHTS This is the first study that assesses both users and professionals in the water supply on investment in rainwater infrastructures (RWIs).; More than 82.3% of the rainwater users would invest in RWI.; More than 81% of dwellers in Haiti used rainwater for washing, bathing, cooking, flushing, and drinking.; The lack of Haitian governmental politics is the main barrier to decentralization of the water system in Haiti.;

Keywords

• alternative water sources
• dweller's willingness
• public water system
• rainwater harvesting
• transition of water system
• water treatment