Potable water distribution by tanker trucks and monetary poverty in Peru, 2020-2023

Abstract

Intermittent access to drinking water is a social and public-health gap that mainly affects vulnerable territories. This article aimed to determine the relationship between potable water distribution by tanker trucks and monetary poverty in Peru during 2020-2023. A quantitative, applied, non-experimental and descriptive-correlational study was conducted using secondary documentary data from OTASS and INEI. The unit of analysis comprised 12 beneficiary departments: Amazonas, Cajamarca, Huánuco, Ica, Junín, Lambayeque, Lima, Loreto, Piura, San Martín, Tumbes and Ucayali. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation were applied at a 5% significance level; therefore, the findings are interpreted as associations rather than causal relationships. Between 2020 and 2023, 594,462 m³ of drinking water were distributed through 21 tanker trucks, directly benefiting 45,753 families at an accumulated public cost of S/ 5,478,232. The results show a moderate positive relationship between distributed volume and monetary poverty (r = 0.432; p = 0.010), and a very high positive relationship between distributed volume and public cost (r = 0.970; p < 0.001). The study concludes that tanker-truck supply is a necessary response to emergencies and infrastructure deficits, but it should not replace permanent investment in drinking-water networks.