When water is lacking at home: domestic water insecurity and triggers of conflict

Abstract

This article argues that household water insecurity—shortfalls in availability, reliability, quality and affordability—functions as an underestimated trigger of conflict. Using a comparative case design (water-trucking crises in Santo Domingo Oeste, Dominican Republic (2025); Santa Elena, Ecuador (2023–2025); and the Sertão of Ceará, Brazil (2025)) alongside a scoping synthesis, we trace escalation mechanisms from intra-household tensions to neighborhood disputes and community-level contention (complaints, roadblocks). We translate household experience into operational logistics variables (waiting time, route compliance, effective/scheduled trips, 20-L cost) and everyday-peace outcomes (complaints/blockades per month, trust). Findings indicate that prolonged rationing, contaminated supplies and disproportionate access costs intensify routine stress, fuel disputes over turns and water points, and erode institutional trust. We propose a causal framework linking household water insecurity ? interpersonal conflict ? community contention, and discuss policy measures: service continuity and quality; reduced fetching burden; protection for vulnerable users; and transparency with grievance redress. We highlight the centrality of micro-distribution reliability (routes/timetables, queuing rules, transparency and route protection) and gradual technological decentralization (e.g., solar solutions and community points) to reduce conflict. Ensuring safe, continuous and affordable water at the dwelling constitutes preventive peace infrastructure. We outline a minimum KPI set and an evaluation strategy combining HWISE-4 with logistics dashboards to enable public auditing.