(Un)Affordability of Informal Water Systems: Disparities in a Comparative Case Study in Beirut, Lebanon
Achieving affordable and equitable access to water for all remains a challenge worldwide. In areas suffering from chronic water shortages, communities pay high costs for alternative informal water sources (such as tanker trucks, bottled water, and wells) to meet their daily water needs. This study e...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/17/2713 |
| _version_ | 1797492588253544448 |
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| author | Yasmina Choueiri Jay Lund Jonathan K. London Edward S. Spang |
| author_facet | Yasmina Choueiri Jay Lund Jonathan K. London Edward S. Spang |
| author_sort | Yasmina Choueiri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Achieving affordable and equitable access to water for all remains a challenge worldwide. In areas suffering from chronic water shortages, communities pay high costs for alternative informal water sources (such as tanker trucks, bottled water, and wells) to meet their daily water needs. This study examines water costs of informal sources and overall affordability disparities for two communities of different socioeconomic status in Beirut, Lebanon. Water is often unaffordable for both of these communities. Overall, 6% of household income is spent on purchasing water (compared to an average global percentages of 3% to 5%). There are also significant disparities between the communities: lower income residents pay 2.2 times more of their income to secure water, and more than half of these residents (55% of households) spend more than 5% of their income on water. To overcome water shortages, these residents turn to informal water sources, but at significant additional cost. These costs and impacts on lower income residents are high and inequitable. We propose strategies to address cost, quality and quantity issues for informal sources. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:05:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cc0c2ac49e5f45c896a5c06f44f6dd30 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:05:50Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-cc0c2ac49e5f45c896a5c06f44f6dd302023-11-23T14:27:05ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412022-08-011417271310.3390/w14172713(Un)Affordability of Informal Water Systems: Disparities in a Comparative Case Study in Beirut, LebanonYasmina Choueiri0Jay Lund1Jonathan K. London2Edward S. Spang3Geography Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USADepartment of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USADepartment of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USADepartment of Food Science & Technology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USAAchieving affordable and equitable access to water for all remains a challenge worldwide. In areas suffering from chronic water shortages, communities pay high costs for alternative informal water sources (such as tanker trucks, bottled water, and wells) to meet their daily water needs. This study examines water costs of informal sources and overall affordability disparities for two communities of different socioeconomic status in Beirut, Lebanon. Water is often unaffordable for both of these communities. Overall, 6% of household income is spent on purchasing water (compared to an average global percentages of 3% to 5%). There are also significant disparities between the communities: lower income residents pay 2.2 times more of their income to secure water, and more than half of these residents (55% of households) spend more than 5% of their income on water. To overcome water shortages, these residents turn to informal water sources, but at significant additional cost. These costs and impacts on lower income residents are high and inequitable. We propose strategies to address cost, quality and quantity issues for informal sources.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/17/2713informal water systemsaffordabilitydisparitiesLebanon |
| spellingShingle | Yasmina Choueiri Jay Lund Jonathan K. London Edward S. Spang (Un)Affordability of Informal Water Systems: Disparities in a Comparative Case Study in Beirut, Lebanon Water informal water systems affordability disparities Lebanon |
| title | (Un)Affordability of Informal Water Systems: Disparities in a Comparative Case Study in Beirut, Lebanon |
| title_full | (Un)Affordability of Informal Water Systems: Disparities in a Comparative Case Study in Beirut, Lebanon |
| title_fullStr | (Un)Affordability of Informal Water Systems: Disparities in a Comparative Case Study in Beirut, Lebanon |
| title_full_unstemmed | (Un)Affordability of Informal Water Systems: Disparities in a Comparative Case Study in Beirut, Lebanon |
| title_short | (Un)Affordability of Informal Water Systems: Disparities in a Comparative Case Study in Beirut, Lebanon |
| title_sort | un affordability of informal water systems disparities in a comparative case study in beirut lebanon |
| topic | informal water systems affordability disparities Lebanon |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/17/2713 |
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