Assessing the effective demand for improved water supplies in informal settlements: a willingness to pay survey in Vlakfontein and Finetown, Johannesburg

South Africa has an enormous backlog in the provision of adequate water supplies to its urban population, which is exacerbated by the growing number of informal urban settlements. International experience in the water and sanitation sector has indicated the importance of demand factors in effective provision of improved water supplies. At the same time growing experience with contingent valuation surveys in developing countries has led to increased confidence in their use as tools for the assessment of effective demand for improved water supplies in communities. Based on this experience a survey of willingness to pay for improved water supplies was conducted in two informal settlements in Greater Johannesburg. The survey results are reported on and placed in the context of current levels of water supply in South Africa. The implications of the results for future urban water supply, policy and planning are then discussed and the value of contingent valuation studies for water supply planning is briefly assessed. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.