Eastlands water supply project to be ready in November

Residents of Nairobi’s populous Eastlands area are likely to get water in their taps for more days from November.

The Eastern Transmission Pipeline is 85 per cent complete and the 100 per cent completion should be achieved in two months, according to Water, Sanitation and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki.  

This is welcome news to residents of Umoja, Huruma, Kariobangi, Embakasi, Doonholm, JKIA, Njiru, Ruai, Mihango and Utawala estates.

They mostly get water for between two to three days as a result of rationing.

The Eastern Transmission Pipeline is a 24km development scheduled to end at Embakasi where a 14 million-litre reinforced concrete water storage tank has been erected.

Kariuki spoke on Thursday during a tour of water installations in Nairobi. She was accompanied by among others Joseph Kamau, the chief manager in charge of infrastructure. 

The Athi Water Development Agency is undertaking several expansion works to address serious deficits in the city.

The CS toured the Kabete water treatment plant, Uthiru storage tanks, Uthiru-Karen pipeline, the Karen tank site and the Karen ponds, officially known as the Western Transmission Pipeline.

Once complete, the modifications and expansion works are expected to meet the current water deficit and serve Nairobi until 2042 without any challenges.

The modification project consists of the 14km Western Transmission Pipeline (Kabete-Uthiru-Karen) with a five million-litre capacity reinforced concrete water storage tank and the Eastern Transmission Pipeline (Kiambu-Embakasi).

Also part of the project is the upgrading of the Kabete pumping station to produce an additional 42 million litres from the current 30 million litres per day. 

A 500,000-litre tank and pumping station at Kenya High School is also under construction.

Once complete, it will serve residents of  Kawangware, Dagoretti, Riruta, Kabiria, Mutuini, Waithaka, Uthiru and Karen in the Western parts of the city.

The project will connect 45,000 households with water and serve an estimated 336,000 residents in the peri-urban areas of Nairobi.

Sicily emphasised the need to secure the land and all the installations to prevent encroachment and illegal entry to the sites.

She called on managers of the water installations to secure their land documents to protect the public properties.

Nairobi has over the years been a water-deficit city, with the January 2017 crisis being the most notable after the Ndakaini Dam water level dropped to a minimum.

Vulnerable urban populations are the most affected by the current deficit. The Nairobi Metropolitan Services has been sinking boreholes in the areas to address the challenges.

Phase 1 of the Free Water Access project commenced in April and will supply 14.8 million litres daily to 750,000 residents. 

NMS in partnership with Athi Water also drilled 90 boreholes across the capital.

Some 100 boreholes will be drilled during the ongoing Phase 2 of Free Water Access project.

About 11,353,000 litres will be added to the supply from 60 boreholes which are currently being drilled.

The targeted beneficiaries are residents of Kibra, Muthurwa, Mathare, Huruma, Korogocho, Dandora, Kawangware, Kibarage, Kangemi, Kayole, Embakasi, Kasarani, Ruai, Makongeni, Shauri Moyo, Jericho, Makadara, Githurai, Kamae and Industrial Area.

Additional water supply will come from the Northern Collector Tunnel in Murang'a county.