UC Davis

Many parts of the world with chronic and intermittent water shortages rely on informal water systems for all or part of their daily water uses, such as water deliveries from water tanker trucks, purchased bottled water, or water pumped from local wells. These alternative sources tend to burden water users with additional costs, require additional energy inputs, and are managed by informal stakeholders. Using a political ecology lens and a mixed methods approach, this research examines informal water services in Beirut (Lebanon), their socio-economic and environmental impacts, and aspects of their organization. The research analyzes affordability disparities between high- and low-income communities, considering the additional costs of informal water sources and residents’ different coping behaviors and capabilities. The research also assesses environmental impacts of informal water systems with a comparative energy-water nexus and carbon footprint analysis of formal (piped infrastructure) and informal water sources. The research also applies social network analysis to identify and characterize informal water tanker firms, and shows indirect socio-cultural and environmental driving forces influencing their organization, cooperation and competition. Finally, while recognizing the importance of informal services to achieve water security, the research addresses their social injustice outcomes through hybrid policy recommendations for hybrid systems that target formal piped infrastructure and informal sources to balance resilience with sustainability and attenuate the inequalities of those services.