Kitui is a semi-arid and sparsely populated rural county, where low and unreliable rains create water insecurities for fragile cropping and livestock systems. Searching for and fetching water continue to dominate the daily lives of women and children, with households using around four different sources in a year. Rains drive a sharp shift in source choice from groundwater-based handpumps and piped schemes to free surface water sources, risking ill health. This, in turn, decrease revenues for water service providers, jeopardising operation and maintenance services in wet seasons. The Water Diaries reveal different expenditure groups, from those that incur no expenses throughout the year to those that pay more than 10 per cent of their annual expenditures for water. Yet daily consumption remains at only 20 litres per person. Donor investments in water security are fragile and fleeting with devolution transferring a legacy of past failures to newly elected county governments. The results of a professional service delivery model have illustrated how the government and donors can guarantee reliable drinking water services at lower costs, though action and uptake are slow. While hydroclimatic conditions are harsh, weak governance and opaque accountability compound challenges and waste investments.