Longitudinal Study On Locally-Led Water Infrastructure Investments In Select Arid And Semi-Arid Counties In Kenya
Adaptation Consortium
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Abstract: This synthesis report presents the findings of a longitudinal study on the functionality, governance, and sustainability of 95 locally-led water infrastructure investments across five ASAL counties?Garissa, Isiolo, Kitui, Makueni, and Wajir?under Kenya?s County Climate Change Fund (CCCF) mechanism. Originally implemented between 2012 and 2018 to address water scarcity and build community resilience, the study revisits projects such as boreholes, sand dams, and earth pans. Findings reveal a decline in overall functionality since 2019, with 38.7% functional, 21% partially functional, 19.4% non-functional, and 21% inactive due to insecurity or seasonality. The report analyzes barriers including technical failures, inadequate maintenance capacity, weak governance, and limited access to climate information. It emphasizes the need for inclusive planning, integration of meteorological data, sustained financing for O&M, and institutional memory preservation. The study uses mixed methods including community FGDs, technical inspections, and spatial analysis.