Household Perspectives on Urban Water Service Delivery: Implications for Policy and Practice in the Philippines

Achieving safe and reliable water services remains a critical challenge in many rapidly urbanizing cities and is central to Sustainable Development Goal 6. In the Philippines, service delivery is constrained by aging infrastructure, fragmented governance, and weak accountability, slowing progress toward universal access. This study examines household perspectives on water services in Legazpi City, one of the fastest-urbanizing cities in the country, drawing on a large-scale household survey. Using Importance–Performance Analysis and thematic coding, it evaluates five service dimensions: water quality, supply reliability, staff performance, customer support, and billing. Results show consistent strengths in staff courtesy and billing accuracy but reveal persistent concerns about water quality and supply reliability, which households view as essential to daily well-being. Thematic evidence highlights discolored water, weak pressure, frequent interruptions, and poor communication. These findings emphasize the need for infrastructure investment, stronger transparency, and institutionalized user feedback to improve service governance.