High connection fees leave the unserved poor reliant on local private providers
who supply water by the tanker, cart or bucket. At the end of this unregulated
supply chain the cost per litre is often many times that charged by the official
utility.3 The cost is not just financial. Lower quality water means a cost to health,
while reduced convenience carries a time-cost.4 Such costs ultimately trap the
poor in water poverty, unable to access the health, dignity and increased
productivity that clean water bring