A study of water vending and willingness to pay for water in Onitsha, Nigeria

Most people in Onitsha, Nigeria obtain their water from an elaborate and wellorganized
water vending system which is run by the private sector. About 275 tanker trucks
collect water from private boreholes and sell it to households and businesses equipped with water
storage facilities

Many of these households and businesses resell water by the bucket to
individuals who cannot afford large storage tanks or who cannot be reached by tanker trucks.
During the dry season the private water vending system collects about 24 times as much revenue
as the public water utility. On an annual basis, households in Onitsha pay water vendors over
twice the operation and maintenance costs of a piped distribution system.