NAME: ANDRE MCPHERSON

SCHOOL: HAPPY GROVE HIGH

TEACHER: MS. GRAY

CENTRE#:

CANDIDATE#:

YEAR:2015

TOPIC: The level of efficiency of the water supply in my community.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE

Acknowledgement

Introduction

Statement of Problem

Method of Investigation

Instrument Used to collect Data

  Letter of Purpose
 Copy of Questionnaire

Procedure Used to collect Data

Presentation of Data

Interpretation of Data

Findings

Recommendations

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First, I would like to thank my mother for her valuable time and effort in helping
me in the successful distribution of the questionnaires, it was highly appreciated.
Secondly, I would like to thank the residents of Kensington for taking the time out
to answer these questionnaires. And last but certainly not least my teacher for
guiding me along with those ‘little corrections’ that made this assignment a
success.
 INTRODUCTION

Kensington is a small community located in the eastern parish of Portland, in the

country of Jamaica. It is approximately 1 mile from the community of
Manchioneal and approximately 21 kilometers from the parish capital of Port
Antonio. As a resident of Kensington for almost seven years, I have noticed a
number of issues affecting the community, chief of which was a lack of a reliable
source of water. I have therefore chosen to conduct this survey as I have had first-
hand experience of the in conveniences caused by this issue.
 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

What is the level of efficiency of the Water Supply in the community of

Kensington?

METHOD OF INVESTIGATION

Upon careful observation of all my choices for data collection, I have chosen to
use printed questionnaires. My reasons for choosing this method of data
collection are as follows:

 It guarantees the person filling out the form anonymity.

 It is convenient as it requires little time for the respondent to fill out.
  It minimizes the face to face contact required by the other methods.

INSTRUMENT USED TO COLLECT DATA

Letter of Purpose

Dear Respondent,

The questionnaire that you have been given will aid in a survey being carried
out in the community of Kensington. This survey is being carried out as part of an
assignment for a course in Social Studies of which I am currently pursuing.

Your honesty and truthfulness are advised and appreciated. Remember that this
questionnaire is based solely on your opinions so there is no right or wrong
answers. Some questions require a simple tick in a box but specific instructions
will be given where necessary. No name is required for this questionnaire and the
information provided is guaranteed confidentiality.

Yours truly,

ANDRE

COPY OF QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Sex Male Female

2. To what age group do you belong?

10-20yrs

21-40yrs

41-59yrs

60yrs and over

3. How long have you been a resident of Kensington?

 Under 1yr

2-4yrs

5-9yrs

10yrs and over

4. To what ethnic group do you belong?

Chinese

Negro

Asian

Other_______________

5. How often does the community experience shortage of water?

Every day

Once every week

Twice every week

Once each month

6. When there is no water in the community, what other sources do you get it
from?

Water truck

The river

Purchasing bottled water

Other_______________

7. How long has the community been suffering from water shortages?

Under 1yr
 2-4yrs

5-6yrs

7yrs and over

8. How is the issue of water shortage treated by the community?

Without interest

With little interest

As a top priority

9. At what time of the day does the community normally experience water
shortages?

In the mornings

At noon

At nights

In the evenings

10.What do you think is the cause of the water shortage in Kensington?

Increase in water usage

Climate variations

Malfunctioning machinery

Increase in population

11.How do you store water when there is a shortage?

Tank

Barrel
Bottled

Other__________________

12. Do you think the authority is doing enough to relieve us of this problem?

Yes

No

13. Do you agree that the shortage of water affects your daily activities?

Agree

Strongly Agree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

14. What implications does the shortage of water have on our health?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

15. How has water shortages impacted the lives of the persons living in the
community of Kensington?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
 PROCEDURES USED TO COLLECT DATA

A total of twenty-five (25) questionnaires were prepared and distributed. Of the

twenty-five questionnaires given out, at least twenty of these were expected to
be returned.

There are approximately one hundred households in the community of

Kensington. From this approximation it was determined that a sample of 25% was
needed to sufficiently complete the survey.

To accurately complete this survey, the researcher decided to choose an

individual from each household through the process of random selection. A single
individual was therefore randomly selected from each household and supplied
with a questionnaire to represent one percent of the survey being carried out.

Each individual was given a day or two to complete the questionnaires of which
I later went to collect the questionnaires at their residences and/or places of
business.

PRESENTATION OF DATA

A total of twenty-five (25) questionnaires were randomly given out and collected,
all of which were appropriately filled out.

Q.3-How long have you been a resident of Kensington?

 80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
Num. of Respondents

30%
20%
10%
0%
ge s ry on
sa tion ine ati
u l
te
r ria ac
h
pu
va po
wa at
e g M
n
in im on
in ei
ase Cl ti eas
e c cr
cr un In
In alf
M

Years of residence

Fig.1: Length of residence of respondents

Figure 1 shows the length of time respondents have been residing in the
community of Kensington. From the above column graph it can be said that 64%
have been living there for over 10yrs, 20% have been there between nine-five
years, 8% stated between two-four years and another 8% of respondents have
been residing in the community for less than 1 year.

Q.5- How often does the community experience shortage of water?

 Other Increase in water usage
8% 16%
Increase in population
8%

Malfunctioning Machinery
68%

Fig.2: Pie-chart showing how often the community experiences shortage of water.

From the above pie-chart shown, 48% of respondents stated that the
community suffered from shortage of water once each month, another 32% of
respondents chose the answer every day, 12% stated twice every, 4% cited once
every week and the remaining 4% cited other time periods.

Q.6-When there is no water in the community, what other sources do you get it
from?

Options Percentages (%)

River 72
Other 16
Water Truck 12
Purchasing bottled water 0

Fig.3: Table showing alternative sources of collecting water.

The above table shows the alternative sources of water that the residents of
Kensington use when there is a shortage of water in the community. From the
information collected 72% of respondents use the river as an alternative source,
12% uses the water truck, 16% chose other sources and no one (0%) purchases
bottled water.

Q.7- How long has the community been suffering from water shortages?

70%
60%
50%
Percentage o respondents

40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
ge s y n r
sa on er tio he
r u
ria
ti h in
ul a Ot
ate va ac op
w e M p
n at ng ei
n
sei l im oni a s
ea C ti e
cr nc In
cr
In la fu
M
Lenght of time

Fig 4: Column chart showing the length of time that the community has been
suffering from water shortages in the community of Kensington.

From the above column-chart, it can be shown that 48% of respondents cited
seven years and over as the length of time the community has been suffering
from water shortages, 20% ticked less than 1 year, 12% stated five to six years,
another 12% chose the option two to four years and other time periods were
chosen by 4% of respondents. Subsequently 4% of the question was returned un
answered.

Q.10-What do you think is the cause of the water shortage in Kensington?

 Other
8% Increase in water usage
16%
Increase in population
8%

Malfunctioning Machinery
68%

Fig.5: Pie chart showing the causes of water shortage in the community of
Kensington.

From the information represented by the above pie-chart, it can be stated that
68% of respondents cited malfunctioning machinery as the cause of the water
faced, 16% stated an increase in water usage, 8% stated other causes, no one
(0%) chose the answer climate variations.

INTERPRETATION OF DATA
The term ‘water shortage’ as stated by the popular website GOOGLE.com, can be
defined as ‘a situation where there is an insufficient amount of water to satisfy
normal requirements’.

Information gathered from a survey conducted in the community of Kensington

showed that during periods of water shortage, a majority of the residents chose
to store their water in barrels (36%) with a slightly smaller percentage of residents
using tanks (32%), with other options being: bottled (20%) and other options
(12%).

There are many causes of water shortage, some of which may include: Lack of
rainfall, pollution of rivers and springs, deforestation etc. Some of the causes of
water shortage that residents suggested may be affecting the community of
Kensington are: Malfunctioning machinery (68%), Increase in water usage (16%),
Increase in population (8%) among other options (8%).

Further information gathered from the survey showed that when asked ‘how
often does the community of Kensington experience water shortages?’ a majority
of the residents cited once each month (48%) with other responses being: every
day (32%), twice every week (12%) and once every week (4%), other time periods
were also stated by 4% of respondents.

With water shortages being experienced so often, the question was asked
‘what other sources do residents gather water from when there is a shortage?’
Despite the fact that residents have to struggle to carry water up a steep hill,
research showed that a significant number of residents preferred the river as
their chief source of water (72%) with other responses gathered including other
options such as: rainwater, pipe, tank, etc (16%), water truck (12%). It was
assumed that residents would only use sources which cost little or none at all.
This assumption was proven as no one (0%) cited purchasing bottled water as an
alternative source.

The question was asked how long was the community suffering from water
shortages. The required responses were: 7years and over (48%), less than 1year
(20%), 2-4years (12%) and 5-6years (12%). Furthermore 4% of residents
responded by saying that they were not suffering with another 4% of the survey
being returned unanswered.

With water shortages being an issue for so long, it was assumed that the topic
would generate little interest from residents, this view was supported by 68% of
respondents with other views expressed by residents towards the issue as: a top
priority (24%), without interest (8%).