The Ndakaini dam has enough water to serve Nairobi up to June, dam manager Job Kihamba told the Star on Tuesday.
He said the water is still overflowing and going to waste due to lack of capacity to pump more to the city.
“The water infrastructure needs to be upgraded every 10 years as the population in the city keeps on growing,” he said on the phone.
Ndakaini dam can store 70,000,000 cubic metres at full capacity. It is 2,041 metres above the sea level. The dam is 65 metres deep.
The dam in Murang'a county is the main supplier of water to Nairobi, which has a population of 4,397,073 people, according to the last census.
“There is a need to make projections based on population growth,” he said.
Kihamba said towns such as Thika have started rationing water due to the increasing population.
He said informal settlements are a major threat to the spread of coronavirus.
The country has confirmed 16 cases of coronavirus and Kenyans have been urged to observe hygiene.
On March 17, the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company said the available water would be distributed fairly to residents in the wake of coronavirus.
NCWSC acting director Nahason Muguna said his firm was producing 526,600 cubic metres per day from Ndakaini dam.
This is against the demand of 800,000 cubic metres per day, leaving a shortfall of 273,400 cubic metres a day.
“Coronavirus is a hygiene disease, and we have put in place measures to ensure the 526,600 cubic metres a day reach the city,” Muguna told the Star on the phone.
He said they were planning to rehabilitate 15 boreholes in various parts of the city to bridge the shortfall.
He said 500 toilets across the county, especially in the CBD, slums and markets will be rehabilitated.
Edited by A. Ndung'u
