{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T04:05:43Z","timestamp":1760241943087,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2018,11,8]],"date-time":"2018-11-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1541635200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJGI"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Informality is pervasive in Tanzania\u2019s rural waterscape, but not acknowledged by development partners (donors and beneficiaries), despite persistent warnings by development scholars. Informality is thus the proverbial elephant in the room. In this paper, we examine a case of superior rural water access in two geographical locales\u2014Hai and Siha districts\u2014in Tanzania, where actors not only acknowledge, but actively harness informality to provide access to water to rural populations. We employ concepts from organization and institutional theory to show that when informal programs and related informal sanctions\/rewards complement their formal counterparts, chances for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target 6.1 \u2018By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all\u2019 are significantly increased.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijgi7110437","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2018,11,9]],"date-time":"2018-11-09T03:08:02Z","timestamp":1541732882000},"page":"437","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["The Elephant in the Room: Informality in Tanzania\u2019s Rural Waterscape"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Jesper","family":"Katomero","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. BOX 35042, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yola","family":"Georgiadou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urban and Regional Planning and Geo-Information Management, ITC Faculty, University of Twente, Hengelosestraat 99, 7514 AE Enschede, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2018,11,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"United Republic of Tanzania (2017, November 05). National Water Policy: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 2002. Available online: http:\/\/www.tawasanet.or.tz\/files\/Tanzania%20water%20policy%20-%202002.pdf."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"United Republic of Tanzania (2018, August 16). Tanzania Water Supply and Sanitation Act. Available online: http:\/\/extwprlegs1.fao.org\/docs\/pdf\/tan142669.pdf."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"World Bank (2017, November 10). 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