Do the existing pipe network and community satisfaction influence the preferences of domestic water fulfillment? Evidence from Kota Metro, Lampung Province, Indonesia

The domestic water fulfillment becomes a crucial issue to be discussed considering limited water resources, continuously increasing demand, and multi-dimensional impacts of uncontrolled groundwater exploitation. Aside from efforts taken to accelerate the improvement of the domestic water sector, the traditional assumption claiming that pipe water network provision would lead people to shift their preference into public water service is seemingly questionable in Indonesia due to the absence of clear regulation restricting individual groundwater exploitation. This research aims to elaborate on whether the availability of piped water networks significantly influences people’s choice of their main domestic water source. We took Kota Metro, Lampung Province, Indonesia as a case study area considering the challenge of this city to improve its domestic water sector. We initially conducted a household survey to grasp a preliminary figure of people’s preference patterns as well as their reason in choosing a certain domestic water source in the case study area. Subsequently, we analyzed the relation between the availability of pipe network in the respondent’s residence and the issue of public preference on the daily water fulfillment then correlated them with the satisfaction level on the utilized water source.