• The capital needs 770 million cubic metres of water a day but Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company supplies about 520 million cubic metres.
• In January 2019, the city Water Department l said Nairobi is losing Sh3.7bn yearly from non-revenue water — about 40 per cent of the supply.
Image: WILFRED NYANGARESI.
To increase waster supply in Nairobi, MCAs are recommending building strategic water points countywide.
Nairobi has been a facing water shortage since 2017 and the situation is expected to worsen until 2023 when the Northern Water Collector Tunnel is expected to open.
The shortage continues despite efforts by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services to make water available and easily accessible.
The legislators want NMS and City hall to establish strategic water points.
Nominated MCA Millicent Jagero said the increasing population means increasing demand for water and other services.
She blamed the Water Service Regulations Board, which is mandated to provide licences and accredit water service providers. Jagero said it was asleep on the job. She moved the motion on providing more water points.
The MCA complained about the increase in water vendors who are making a killing by selling water.
“The Water Service Regulations Board has been given that mandate by the Water Act 2016 Article 72 (c). But with increasing illegal connections, we are not even sure whether this board exists or does its work as mandated,” Jagero said.
The capital needs 770 million cubic metres of water a day but Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company only supplies 520 million cubic metres.
The deficit of 250 million cubic metres leads to water rationing.
Supply has frequently been interrupted this year due to infrastructure development and pump repair.
The NMS and Athi Water Agency drilled 193 boreholes last year, most in informal settlements, for Sh1.7 billion.
Residents have been accessing that water for free and water bowsers have increased supply in slums.
However, MCAs said setting up water points at strategic points in will make it easily accessible, especially during the Covic-19 pandemic.
MCAs recommended the re-introduction of Water Action Groups to link the community and the Water Services Board.
Jagero said Water Action Groups formed in 2009 in informal settlements were very active and ensured water was available. She said they were "killed" by cartels that sought to control water and sell it.
“I am suggesting Water Action Groups (WAGs) be reintroduced to monitor water and help establish water points,” she added.
Water Action Groups are community based organisations of citizen volunteering to address issues affecting consumers.
They used to operate as an extended arm of the Water Services Regulatory Board (Wasreb), which handles consumer protection.
WASREB trained Water Action Groups in four regions: Nairobi, Kakamega, Kisumu and Mombasa.
In its first year, 405 complaints were handled by Water Action Groups. Sixty-five per cent of complaints were resolved to the users' satisfaction within a year.
However, due to cartels that sell non-revenue water to residents, the Water Action Groups appear to have disappeared.
Water in Nairobi’s slums is said to be mostly managed by cartels, costing more than in the city's affluent areas.
In January 2019, the Water Department at City Hall revealed Nairobi is losing Sh3.7 billion per year from non-revenue water — about 40 per cent of the total water supply.
Non-revenue water isis produced but ‘lost’ through leakage or theft before it reaches the customer.
Supporting the water points motion, Dandora Two MCA Silas Matara said various populations are experiencing water shortage in the Covid-19 pandemic.
He urged NMS to ensure new dams being built by the national government with donor funds to supply Nairobi water are completed on time.
Umoja One MCA Mark Mugambi said through the motion the assembly should push Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company to increase the water being treated.
He said the current supply is below half of the capital's requirement, hence, the rationing.
“Since construction of Ndakaini dam and its water treatment centew, the company has never built another water treatment plant to supplement increased demand, Mugambi said.
In February, the Northern Water Collector Tunnel was reported to be 91 per cent complete. Two months ago it was reported stalled over lack of Sh3.4 billion.
(Edited by V. Graham )