Clean Water for All, But at What Cost?” A Choice Experiment Analysis in Mining Affected Communities

Abstract

The mining industry has been responsible for boosting economies by creating jobs and commodifying minerals resulting in foreign trade. However, members of mining-affected communities experience many consequences because of these mining activities, one such major consequence is the exacerbation of water scarcity. This research aims to study how members of mining-affected communities make decisions about access to water in conditions of water scarcity. These decisions will be analysed through the lens of Utility Theory, to understand what trade-offs members are willing to make to achieve utility maximisation. The current research will empirically identify the most and least influential attributes in decisions about water provision, between water quality, availability, source, capacity limit, distance to water, and the price community members are willing to pay. A quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 684 households in 3 different mining-affected communities using a discrete choice experiment manually distributed to them by volunteers of the non- governmental organisation, Mining-affected Communities United in Action (MACUA). The discrete choice experiment results were analysed using RStudio and the results showed that there was a positive utility for quality, and availability while distance and price had significant disutility. Ground water was perceived to be the most utility maximising of the three sources and the capacity limit was non-significant.