Establishing and maintaining public water services in fragile states is a significant development challenge.
In anticipation of water infrastructure investments, this study compares drinking water sources and quality between
Port Harcourt, Nigeria, and Monrovia, Liberia, two cities recovering from political and economic instability. In both cities,
access to piped water is low, and residents rely on a range of other private and public water sources. In Port Harcourt,
geographic points for sampling were randomly selected and stratified by population density, whereas in Monrovia, locations
for sampling were selected from a current inventory of public water sources. In Port Harcourt, the sampling
frame demonstrated extensive reliance on private boreholes and a preference, in both planned and unplanned settlements,
for drinking bottled and sachet water. In Monrovia, sample collection focused on public sources (predominantly
shallow dug wells). In Port Harcourt, fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) were detected in 25% of sources (N = 566), though
concentrations were low. In Monrovia, 57% of sources contained FIB and 22% of sources had nitrate levels that
exceeded standards (N = 204). In Monrovia, the convenience of piped water may promote acceptance of the associated
water tariffs. However, in Port Harcourt, the high prevalence of self-supply and bottled and sachet drinking water suggests
that the consumer’s willingness to pay for ongoing municipal water supply improvements may be determined by
service reliability and perceptions of water quality.