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East African Water & Sanitation Workshop 202520 March 2025CC-BY-4.0PDFID 3f16d
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Esther Mwikali and Daniel Okumu (2025) Community-managed sand dams and dry-season water security in semi-arid Kitui. East African Water & Sanitation Workshop 2025. https://quorumpress.org/papers/community-managed-sand-dams-3f16d

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Published in East African Water & Sanitation Workshop 2025. This article was peer reviewed before publication.

East African Water & Sanitation Workshop 2025Abstract No. YFKAY4
Blue Nile Water Institute
Abstract

Community-managed sand dams and dry-season water security in semi-arid Kitui

Esther Mwikali1*, Daniel Okumu1

1 Blue Nile Water Institute, Kampala, Uganda
* Corresponding author
Published 20 March 2025CC-BY-4.0

Abstract

Sand dams store water within riverbed sediment, offering a low-cost source through the dry season. Surveying 28 community-managed sand dams in Kitui, Kenya, we found that households near functioning dams walked 46 percent less far for water in the dry season and reported fewer days without any household water. Governance quality, not dam age, was the strongest predictor of sustained function. We identify maintenance-committee practices associated with long-term performance.

Keywords: Sand dams, Water security, Semi-arid, Community management

Cite as: Esther Mwikali & Daniel Okumu (2025). Community-managed sand dams and dry-season water security in semi-arid Kitui. East African Water & Sanitation Workshop 2025. https://quorumpress.org/papers/community-managed-sand-dams-3f16d

© 2025 Mwikali and Okumu. Open access under CC BY 4.0.

An abstract submission. There is no manuscript body.

Cite this paper

Esther Mwikali, Daniel Okumu. Community-managed sand dams and dry-season water security in semi-arid Kitui. East African Water & Sanitation Workshop 2025, 2025. https://quorumpress.org/papers/community-managed-sand-dams-3f16d

Publication ID: 3f16d