Perceptions, Investment Costs, and Willingness to Adopt Rainwater Harvesting of Selected Households in Masbate City, 2025

Date

6-2025

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Arvin B. Vista

Committee Member

Geny F. Lapiña, Maria Angeles O. Catelo

Request Access

For non-UP researchers, requests for access to this material may be directed to the CEM Library at cemlibrary.uplb@up.edu.ph or to the UKDR administrator at uscs-mainlib.uplb@up.edu.ph

Abstract

Water has always been a part of life, but there are still several issues attached to it specially in many areas that are challenged with the lack of dependable water supply. Rainwater is identified to be a good alternative source of water for non-potable uses. However, rainwater harvesting is still not commonly practiced in the Philippines. This study analyzed the perceptions, investment costs, and willingness to adopt rainwater harvesting at the household-level in Masbate City. This aimed to describe the water supply in the study area, to generate household perceptions on rainwater harvesting, to assess their willingness to invest in a rainwater harvesting system, and to determine the factors affecting their willingness to adopt rainwater harvesting system.

Primary data were collected through survey interviews using pre-tested questionnaires, administered through household surveys on 68 randomly selected households in 11 población barangays in Masbate City. To further supplement the analysis of the study, secondary data such as the sources of water in the area and number of households being serviced by the water district were also collected through online sources and data requested from the local government unit of Masbate City. Results of the descriptive analysis showed that the average age in years of the respondets were 49, considered belonging to prime-working age; the average years of their educational attainment was 15 equivalent to college-level; the average household size was 5.48, and majority (69%) are low-income earners. Only 39 out of 68 respondents have active service connection from the local water district, while others obtain water from other sources, such as other private suppliers, water peddlers, and groundwater pumps. About 57 percent of the respondents experience water service interruption daily at an average of about six hours per day. Perceptions of households on rainwater harvesting were also generated and analyzed through a five-point Likert scale which were converted to perception ratings. Results show that respondents have excellent perceptions on rainwater harvesting system with an average perception rating of 91.12. At an estimated price of PhP 7,793, for materials only, which may vary depending on the size of the house, only 16 percent of the respondents were willing to invest above the minimum cost, implying that investing in rainwater harvesting is expensive for low-income households. Results of the binary logit regression analysis showed positive marginal effects on the variables: household income, years of educational attainment, number of animals, and hours of water services interruption daily, while an increase in the age, household size, and number of vehicles have negative effects to their probability of willingness to adopt rainwater harvesting system.

It is crucial to utilize rainwater given the surrounding issues and challenges in water resource. The study concludes that income plays a vital role in investing and establishing a rainwater harvesting system, and it is crucial to promote quality education and provision of local government of Masbate City towards additional livelihood opportunities targeting low-income households.

Language

English

LC Subject

Water-supply—Philippines—Management, Water harvesting

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993.5 2025 A14 S53

Notes

Viewing access to electronic resources is restricted solely to UP Gmail accounts. Any access and share requests from external organizations and personal email accounts will be promptly declined.

Document Type

Thesis

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS