The Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company yesterday assured residents of adequate water supply amid concerns that a crisis looms.
The company through its acting managing director Nahashon Muguna said the water quantity at Ndakaini dam is enough to supply the residents until the onset of long rains in mid-March.
Ndakaini dam, the main reservoir supplying 84 per cent of the water used in the city has a capacity of 70 million cubic metres.
The dam produces 430,000 cubic metres of water a day.
Muguna said level of water at the dam is below 42 per cent but insisted the amount was enough to supply the city until the rains begin.
“We want to assure residents that there will be no further rationing, but we urge them to use water carefully and sparingly,” Muguna said.
Residents in various estates currently receive water supply at most three times a week, but some say their taps have been dry for months.
But Muguna said the equable distribution schedule ensures every customer gets water.
“Through this programme, we have ensured the CBD, all hospitals, the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and major security installations have an uninterrupted supply,” he said.
Some residents of Umoja, BuruBuru, Uhuru Gardens and Bahati Estates say their taps have been dry for more than two months now .
They say they are buying water for as much as Sh60 for a 20-litre jerrycan from hawkers.
“I have not seen water in my tap for a very long time. I have been spending more than Sh500 per day on water,” Umoja resident Violet Wanjiru said.
The city depends on supply from five water sources under the facilitation of the Athi Water Services Board.
Sasumua dam supplies 52,800 cubic metres per day, Kikuyu Springs supplies 4,000 cubic metres, Ruiru dam supplies 22,800 cubic metres, Ngethu Water Works supplies 379,200 cubic metres while the Thika Dam supplies 91,200 cubic metres. Already, construction of the Northern Water Collector Tunnel project in Murang’a is ongoing.