Conditioning factors and effectiveness of the public drinking water service in Santa Lucía Canton, Guayas-Ecuador

Abstract

The influence of the conditioning factors of the public drinking water service on the effectiveness of the service in Santa Lucía Canton, Guayas Province, Ecuador, 2022 was determined. The strategy was quantitative, using a questionnaire (α: 0.978) to consult 150 stakeholders (community leaders) linked to the management and enjoyment of the public drinking water service. Influence was determined using Spearman's Rho correlation test, and the magnitude of influence was calculated from the effect size (ES). SPSS V.24 and G*Power 3.1 software were used. It was assumed that the conditioning factors of the public drinking water service had a positive and significant influence on the effectiveness of the service. The analysis confirms that these factors have a positive, significant and high impact on the effectiveness of the service in Cantón Santa Lucía (Rho=0.815, p-value=0.000; SE > 0.5). The breakdown by factors confirmed this (Rho p-value= ≤ 0.05; SE > 0.5). The normative factors showed significant relationships with all two dimensions of service effectiveness: demand coverage and service economy. It was also evident from Spearman's Rho that technical factors also influence all dimensions of public service effectiveness, a situation that was also found to be true for economic factors. In terms of public planning, stakeholders should be involved in all planning processes. This would generate co-responsibilities and stimulate co-management.

Keywords: Public planning and drinking water, public water resource management, community governance, stakeholders.