• Project will be piloted in Kilifi, Mombasa, Kwale and Taita Taveta counties and will be managed by state and the four county governments.
• CS accuses water service providers of subjecting residents to lack of water due to disconnections, saying they always pay their bills.
The Water ministry is setting up a Joint Water and Sanitation Authority in different regions to ensure fair distribution of water.
Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui said on Thursday the project will be piloted in Kilifi, Mombasa, Kwale and Taita Taveta counties.
The authority will be managed by both the national and the four county governments.
It will manage Baricho, Muzima 1 and 2, Mwache Dam and the Marere springs water projects.
Chelugui told reporters the new authority will bring down production costs. He spoke during an induction workshop for the new governing council members of the Kenya Water Institute at North Coast Beach Hotel in Kilifi.
“The utilities will be given bulk meters and they will be expected to pay the joint authority. If today you take sources as owners of water, there are counties at the Coast and the whole country that may never get water,” the CS said.
The authority will address trans-county, cross -county and trans-basin water schemes.
The CS added that an adviser has been appointed through the World Bank and will be given a report in six months.
He accused water service providers at the Coast of subjecting residents to lack of water due to disconnections, saying users always pay their bills.
“We expect that those who have received this equipment and plants to take up their responsibilities and pay up. It is unfortunate that we are disconnecting water because of power."
He said it did not add up when the ministry is called upon to help clear the debts yet the companies were generating money.
“There is money flowing but there irresponsibility on the part of those managing the schemes. When you look at the books, the revenue is generated by this water and yet the ministry is still expected to pay the loans,” he said.
He asked them to put the first charge on management and then operation and maintenance from the money they collect.
Several water projects are being undertaken in Kilifi, Mombasa, Kwale, Taita Taveta and Tana River counties to ensure there is enough water supply to the residents, Chelugui said.
There is money flowing but there is irresponsibility by those managing the schemes. When you look at the books, the revenue is generated by this water and yet the ministry is still expected to pay the loans.Water CS Simon Chelugui
The Sh10 billion Baricho-Malindi-Kilifi-Mombasa pipeline is complete and will supply more than 90 million litres of water to Mombasa and Kilifi. The Kirepwe under seawater project in Watamu is also complete," he said.
The More than 220km Mzima Pipeline in Taita-Mombasa was renovated and it is producing more than 35 million litres of water.
However, he said, the government is now focusing on the Mwache Dam to increase water supply for Mombasa county. It will produce 186 million litres a day, he said.
Mombasa requires approximately 150 million litres of water daily.
He said next week, they will sign the construction agreements.
“The Mwache Dam project will address water issues for Mombasa. The supply of water from Baricho wells to Mombasa will stop and it will be for Kilifi county alone," Chelugui said.
The Cabinet secretary said the long-awaited Mzima Phase II project is set to commence in three months after the completion of the sustainability studies.
“We have finalised finance and commercial issues. We already have an existing line and we wanted to be sure the second line can sustainably be maintained with enough flow of water; that's the reason for the delay."
Edited by R.Wamochie