## 4 Discussion and Conclusions
It is not clear if the number of malfunctions experienced between 2017 and 2018 is different, or if there were simply fewer resources in 2018 to conduct repairs in a timely fashion. In addition to the lack of resources normally triggered by drought conditions, the contested presidential election and expensive re-vote in 2017 could have contributed to additional budget shortfall for county water offices [34]. All five counties involved in this study reported limited resources for paying personnel or mobilizing vehicles or repairs during the months of June through August when Kenya was entering a new annual financial cycle. It is also possible that water systems at strategic boreholes were used less in 2018 simply because there was less demand. This investigation also builds on the growing literature demonstrating how ground water demand varies significantly depending on precipitation events and the availability of surface water sources [22; 28; 35]. As outlined by [PERSON] et al. [35], the implications of fluctuating demand for basic water services are significant because previous studies have suggested that high adherence to safe water is necessary to realize sustained health benefits [36; 37; 38; 39]. As discussed in [PERSON] et al., the apparent tendency of households to switch from improved to unimproved water sources based on surface water availability merits further investigation. Much like stove stacking with cookstoves [40], water source stacking challenges the assumption that keeping waterpoints functional will be sufficient to decrease the burden of disease from water-borne illnesses [35]. The apparent elasticity of demand also suggests that operation and maintenance be focused where and when demand is least elastic: during dry periods, in areas with limited surface water availability, or in areas where demand for clean water is already high. There are several limitations of this study. For example, the fact that we measured water system use instead of functionality means that we were unable to reliably distinguish when water systems were broken from when water systems were simply not being used. Also, we observed that the definition of strategic borehole was applied differently in each county. While this preserves each county's prerogative for prioritizing particular boreholes, it also makes comparisons across counties difficult. For example, in Isiolo there was initially difficulty identifying which boreholes were designated as strategic due to discrepancies between the NDMA officer and the county water office. Of the four that were labelled strategic, many were closed down during the year and only mobilized during drought conditions. In contrast, most of the strategic boreholes in Turkana were used all year, with variable usage patterns depending on the extent of human and livestock migration during the dry season. Also, at the time of writing a process was still being formalized for operationalizing these data to inform maintenance activities in each county. It is also worth noting that the number of water points with sensors represented a small fraction of the total number of motorized and non-motorized boreholes in each county. Due to the evolving nature of the online dashboards and the inchoate processes for integrating sensor data into existing operation and maintenance activities, the effect of having access to information about each pump site on overall site use and functionality was not considered in this phase of the study. Finally, much of this investigation has focused on the unique role that meso-level institutions and initiatives can play in reducing the vulnerability of communities in arid regions to drought disasters. While we have emphasized the value of using continuous waterpoint monitoring data to inform and mobilize support for the operation and maintenance activities of local county water offices, we acknowledge that water security cannot be reduced to waterpoint management.