FACTORS INFLUENCING PERFORMANCE OF COMMUNITY WATER PROJECTS IN TIGANIA CENTRAL SUB-COUTY, MERU COUNTY, KENYA

The success or failure of a community-based water management project can be influenced by level of community participation and ownership, training and education of the project leaders, governance structure of the project and basic management skills of leaders among other factors such as financial and technical support. The purpose of this study was to investigate factors influencing performance of community water projects in Tigania Central District, Meru County. The study adopted a descriptive survey design to collect primary data. The target population comprised 3880 people from which a sample of 388 respondents was purposively selected. The sample comprised management committee members and project members in 6 water projects. This study focused on six operational water projects from which 60 management committee members, 328 project members, which constitute the study sample size of 388 respondents. The research tools were questionnaires and interview schedules which were administered to randomly selected individuals in each sample category so as to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. The data was compiled, given codes and input into SPSS computer programme for statistical analysis and display. The results were displayed in tables and interpreted according to the objectives of the study. The study concluded that more rural people were involved in addressing their own development, confidence and the more the successful level associated with water projects for success. Recommendation is that Projects leaders and members should be trained on effective use of water taps to reduce the loss in quantity or quality of water as it flows from its source through water projects pipes for use to eventual disposal. Article visualizations