Governing Water Scarcity under Devolution: Infrastructure Patterns and Groundwater Constraints in Kajiado West Sub-County, Kenya

Kajiado West Sub County, a Semi -Arid region in Kenya frequently experience acute shortage of water supply yet there exist huge quantities of ground water as captured in the County Government of Kajiado intergraded development plan (2018-2022) which lies untapped. This paper analyzes how existing patterns of water infrastructure are shaped by the devolved system of governance in the Sub County. Guided by Graham Allison’s bureaucratic politics theory, the paper adopted concurrent triangulation mixed design. Quantitative component drew from a target population of 353 from which a sample of 188 was calculated using Yamane formula while qualitative component involved 18 key informants. Questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data while semi –structured interviews were used to collect qualitative data. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) while qualitative data were thematically analyzed. The paper found that two distinct patterns of water infrastructure exist in the Sub County, shaped by human settlement patterns and occurrence of saline and hot groundwater. The paper concludes that human settlement, saline and hot ground water and gaps in public policy formulation and implementation largely determines the patterns of water infrastructure in the Sub County. The paper recommends that the County Government of Kajiado should institute a policy of constructing water pipes from existing boreholes to supply water to areas with saline and hot ground water and install water storage tanks near homesteads, Schools and health facilities. Key Words: Ground Water; Water Patterns; Water Infrastructure; Human Settlement; Saline Water; Hot Ground Water