Factors affecting household decision to adopt roof water harvesting practices as a source of domestic water supply in Mekelle

The population size of Mekelle grows very fast while water supply remains inadequate to satisfy the demand. Despite the progress Mekelle Water Supply Service Office (MWSSO) made so far, there is still the challenge of providing adequate and persistent pure water supply in the city. The objective of this study is, therefore, designed to analyze factors influencing the adoption of Domestic Roof Water Harvesting (DRWH) practices using a binary logit model. The results of the study are based on data collected from a survey of 120 households which are selected using purposive and stratified sampling techniques to select enumeration areas and sampling unit (sample strata) respectively. And 30 sample respondents are selected using purposive sampling from each stratum. In addition 20 non household water users are selected purposively for focus group discussion. The binary logit model used a total of 11 explanatory variables. Out of which 8 variables were significant to affect household decision to adopt DRWH practices. These are age, monthly income, perception towards quality & reliability of existing water supply, social responsibility and attitude towards importance of roof water harvesting, house ownership and affordability of the technology. Therefore, this study focuses on the extent of adopting DRWH as an alternative source of fresh water in the face of increasing water scarcity since it is remaining untapped resource. It also aims at filling the gap of research on identifying factors influencing household’s decision to participate in DRWH and it will enable policy makers to have adequate information for the attainment of the implementation of the technology. Key words: roof water harvesting, technology adoption, logit model, potable water, Mekelle