Domestic Water Governance in Tanzania's Small Urban Centers: Roles and Practices of Formal and Informal Actors in Kabuku, Handeni District

Abstract

This study examines how formal and informal actors shape domestic water governance in Kabuku Small Urban Centre, Tanzania, addressing limited research on water governance in small urban centres situated between rural and urban institutional arrangements. A mixed-methods case-study design was employed, combining a household survey of 200 households, follow-up semi-structured interviews, 45 key-informant interviews, transect walks and field observations. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively using SPSS, while qualitative evidence was analysed thematically. The findings reveal a hybrid and service-polycentric governance arrangement in which informal providers play a central role in everyday water access. Individual water vendors were reported as the principal provider by 40% of surveyed households, followed by the Handeni Trunk Main Water Supply and Sanitation Authority (HTMWSA) at 28%, mobile vendors at 20%, communal vendors at 10%, and HANDENI RUWASA at 2%. Collectively, informal and community-based vendors served 70% of surveyed households. Water-access patterns also varied spatially, with peripheral households showing greater reliance on non-piped sources. The study demonstrates that multiple providers emerge as practical responses to infrastructure and institutional constraints, but actor plurality does not necessarily constitute coordinated polycentric governance. Strengthening institutional capacity, recognising informal providers, and improving coordination and proportionate regulation are therefore essential for equitable and resilient water services in rapidly urbanising small urban centres.

Keywords: Domestic water governance; local actors; small urban centres; Tanzania.