Rural households' preferences for multiple uses water services in the Sekororo-Letsoalo area, Limpopo Province, South Africa - A Choice modelling approach | Préférences pour les services d'eau à usages multiples des ménages ruraux dans la zone Sekororo-Letsoalo, province du Limpopo, Afrique du Sud - Une approche de "choice modelling"

The provision of free basic water and a more equal distribution of water for productive uses are seen as important instruments to redress inequities from the past and eradicate poverty in South Africa (SA). Presently the government has committed itself to providing free basic water for all. However, provision of this water is still a problem especially in the rural areas. Financing of multiple use water services has been identified as an important ingredient for ensuring improved access to water for rural poor and at the same time accommodate for productive uses and broaden livelihood options for the poor in SA. Recent evidence has indicated the potential contribution that productive use of domestic water might make to food security and poverty reduction in rural areas of SA. Efficient, equitable and sustainable investment in improved domestic water services should be demand driven, that is, it should be based on a thorough understanding of effective demand by consumers for multiple use water services. The assessment of demand for improved domestic water services provides the basis for micro level analysis of consumer benefits from multiple water uses. Such studies are not common in SA's rural areas and most of the studies to date focus on either domestic or irrigation water demand. This study attempts to fill this gap by assessing the household demand for multiple water services in Sekororo-Letsoalo area in the Limpopo Province. Choice modelling is the approach used in this study to identify the attributes that determine demand for water services and quantify their respective importance. Households are presented with alternative water choices, corresponding to different levels of the attributes. In this study, the following attributes were used: water quantity, water quality, frequency of water supply, price of water, productive uses of water, and source of water. Choice modelling allows estimating the relative importance of these attributes for various groups (strata) of the studied population, and ultimately provides a measure of the willingness to pay for different aspects of water demand (attributes) and different water uses. Results show that households are willing to pay for water improvements.