Abstract: In this paper, we analyze water demand by urban households in Rwanda who currently lack a piped connection into their home. The analysis uses data from a cross-sectional survey. The results show that public taps are the most widely used water source and that the demand for water from this source is more inelastic than that for water from other water sources. Although some households combine different sources of water, the majority in the sample uses only one source.

The general objective is to estimate, from an interdisciplinary perspective, the economic and social impact of changes in water availability due to climate change. This objective involves quantifying the relationship between changes in water availability due to climate change, and population growth, land use changes, carbon sequestration and other social and environmental stressors that affect the quality of life of people relaying on water provision in a geographical region.