Perceptions of Drinking Water Service of the ‘Off-Grid’ Community in Cimahi, Indonesia

Rizky Prayoga,Elivas Simatupang,Majid Sedighi,Arief D Sutadian,Seth Schindler,Eka J Sundana,Siska W D Kusumah,Bagus Budiwantoro,Arie Wibowo,Anindrya Nastiti

doi:10.3390/w13101398

Abstract

The establishment of decentralized drinking water systems in urban areas is technically and financially feasible, and these ‘off-grid’ systems can complement investment in traditional piped water systems. However, users often see ‘off-grid’ systems as the second-best option, compared to citywide piped water systems. Thus, although they are designed to improve access to water and reduce inequality, they can be perceived by users as infrastructural manifestations of extant inequality. In this paper, we present original research on the perceptions of users in Cimahi, Indonesia, surrounding their access to water and willingness to use and maintain ‘off-grid’ infrastructure. The majority of respondents used groundwater and packaged water as their primary water sources, and paid approximately twice the maximum tariff of piped water service. We interpreted the survey data with the theory of planned behavior framework and determined that respondents demonstrated a willingness to pay fees for ‘off-grid’ water systems, participate in water supply programs, and switch to new water sources. These intentions were affected by their attitude towards the behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control to various degrees. The findings are useful for those designing strategies to introduce novel water delivery systems aimed at improving water access for diverse and disadvantaged socioeconomic groups in urban areas in the Global South.

Highlights

The provision of universal access to safe drinking water resources remains a major challenge [1,2]
In Indonesian cities, there are two types of bottled water: branded bottled water and non-branded bottled water purchased from refill water kiosks, which is cheaper than their branded counterpart, popularly known as ‘refill water’
The refill water kiosks are an alternative option for low-income households in urban areas without piped water supply service [47]

Summary

Introduction

The provision of universal access to safe drinking water resources remains a major challenge [1,2]. In the absence of centrally managed citywide systems, small-scale and ‘off-grid’ infrastructure systems have been introduced to meet the needs of residents. In some instances, these are public initiatives, while in other cases, they are presented by private-sector firms or incrementally auto-constructed by residents themselves and owned/operated by communities [6]. These are public initiatives, while in other cases, they are presented by private-sector firms or incrementally auto-constructed by residents themselves and owned/operated by communities [6] These decentralized and ‘off-grid’ solutions have attracted attention from scholars, policymakers, and residents because it is doubtful that the target of universal access will be met solely using centralized piped water systems [6]. The proliferation of ‘off-grid’ infrastructure initiatives has resulted in the emergence of water systems in many southern metropolises as a disconnected patchwork of sub-systems that vary in terms of quality, efficiency, cost, and accessibility, and comprise unique heterogeneous infrastructure configurations [9,10,11,12]

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Conclusion