Technical-Institutional Decoupling in Domestic Water Services: Evidence from Southern Algeria

Water service performance is conventionally assessed through technical indicators such as network coverage, pressure levels, and supply continuity. Yet empirical evidence increasingly suggests that infrastructural conditions and institutional governance do not necessarily move in the same direction, producing misleading assessments when treated as equivalent. This study examines the relationship between technical performance and institutional governance in domestic water distribution services in El Oued, southeastern Algeria, a Saharan region characterized by arid environmental conditions, groundwater dependency, and persistent urban–rural service disparities. Drawing on a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, the study combines a stratified household survey (n = 300) with semi structured interviews (n = 30) to measure and interpret urban–rural differences across both dimensions. Quantitative results reveal a large and statistically significant urban advantage in technical performance (d = 1.359), while institutional governance was rated substantially more positively in rural areas (d = −0.825). Critically, the two dimensions are strongly and negatively correlated (r = −0.487, p < 0.001), indicating structural decoupling rather than incidental divergence. Qualitative findings explain this pattern through contrasting evaluative frameworks: urban residents assess governance against expectations of formal responsiveness, while rural residents do so through institutional proximity and visible local effort. These findings challenge single-dimension approaches to water service evaluation and argue that technical investment and governance quality must be assessed and addressed as structurally distinct policy levers.