Consumers’ Perception of Piped Water Supply and Willingness to Pay for Improvements in Trinidad

Piped water is the main source of household water in Trinidad, yet service problems are widely reported while the national utility is under financial strain. Additionally, very little survey evidence exists on how consumers rate the service or whether they would pay more for improvements. This study used an online questionnaire, distributed through email, social media and mobile messaging, to which 107 adults aged 18–60 responded; perceptions, coping behaviour and willingness to pay (WTP) were examined with descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and rank correlations. Only 26.2% of respondents were on a scheduled supply. Low pressure (34.3% of reported problems), discoloured water (27.6%) and supply interruptions (16.6%) were the most frequently reported problems, while odour was rarely cited (3.9%). Satisfaction with water quality was moderate (44.9% satisfied, 41.1% neutral, 14.0% dissatisfied), and 38.3% of households treated water at home. Only 22.4% (95% CI 15.6–31.2%) were definitely willing to pay a higher monthly fee, 35.5% were unsure and 42.1% were not; among those indicating an amount, 70.0% would accept an increase of no more than 5%. The main reasons for declining were the belief that quality should improve at no extra cost (58.2%) and lack of trust in the water authority (55.7%), rather than inability to pay (16.5%). WTP rose with household income, from 0% in the lowest band to 50.0% above TT$20,000 per month, but was not significantly associated with residence, household size, satisfaction or home treatment. Willingness to pay for better piped water is therefore limited, conditional on trust in the provider and concentrated among higher-income households, so visible service improvements, transparent accountability and income-sensitive tariff design appear to be preconditions for price-based funding of upgrades.