- The multi-billion project was set to be completed by April last year and end the perennial water shortage in Nairobi county and its environs.
- The Nairobi City Water Sewerage Company receives a supply of 525 million litres per day from Ndakaini.
Image: ALICE WAITHERA
It will take a little bit longer before Nairobi residents enjoy water from the Northern Collector Tunnel in Murang’a county.
The tunnel that was once condemned by a section of politicians as "the tunnel of death" is meant to boost the water supply to the city by channelling more than 140 million litres of water into the Ndaka-ini dam every day.
It entailed the construction of a fully lined 11.8 km tunnel with a diameter of 3.2 metres and is set to collect 40 per cent of the floodwaters that flow into the Maragua, Gikigie and Irati rivers.
Athi Water Services which has been implementing the project said Murang’a experiences floods twice a year.
The floods carry approximately 1.2 million cubic meters.
This water causes havoc to plants and people downstream.
The multi-billion project was set to be completed by April last year and end the perennial water shortage in Nairobi county and its environs.
On Tuesday, Water Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome said the works that include treatment works are complete.
However, the project was being hampered by compensation issues on the land where the pipeline will traverse.
“The project is being held back by land claims by the owners,” Wahome said.
The Ndakaini dam, which has depth average of 65 metres, has a storage capacity of 70,000,000m3 (70 billion litres) at a full storage level and is 2,041 metres above sea level.
The dam produces 430,000m3 per day of water, about 84 per cent of the total water supply to Nairobi residents.
Ndakaini remains the main supplier of water to Nairobi, which has a population of 4.3 million as of the 2019 census.
Statistical projections estimate the city's population will hit 10 million by 2030, further straining the water supply.
The Nairobi City Water Sewerage Company receives a supply of 525 million litres per day from Ndakaini.
The supply falls short of the 850 million litres per day demand, leaving a shortfall of 325 million litres.
This has compelled the water company to ration water so that city resident gets the commodity.
Wahome said once the outstanding issues have been resolved, water to the city will be boosted.
She made the remarks after overseeing the handover ceremony of two Principal secretaries within the ministry.
Dr Paul Ronoh for the State Department for Water and Sanitation and Gitonga Mugambi for State Department for Irrigation took over the mantle for the two dockets promising to enhance water coverage and sanitation, and increase land under irrigation to ensure food security.
Wahome said the money for compensation has already been availed to the National Land Commission.
“The National Land Commission is tasked with the completion of this issue as money is already in the bank,” the Water CS said.
Wahome said the compensation claims are arising from landowners who previously allowed the water pipes to traverse their property but were not compensated.
But even as the project takes shape, experts say the tunnel won’t solve city water woes.
This is because the expansion of water projects supplying Nairobi has stalled for decades, even as the population of the city grows.
Nairobi’s population is currently 4.5 million residents and is expected to hit 10 million by 2030.
The CS said the project will be commissioned early next year to increase water coverage in the city and its satellite towns.
Wahome at the same time raised concerns about the non-revenue water, saying the state, with the help of the private sector, is seeking ways to curb non-revenue water.
Non-revenue water is water produced but lost before reaching consumers, exposing water firms to huge losses.
A report by the Auditor General Nancy Gathungu showed that Nairobi loses Sh4.8 billion in unbilled water.
Gathungu’s report for the financial year that ended June 30, 2020, revealed that the Nairobi water company produced 176.04 million cubic metres of water out of which only 86.35 million cubic metres were billed to customers.
The 51 per cent of the total volume produced, a balance of 89.69 million cubic metres, represents non-revenue water.
This was double the allowable loss of 25 per cent, under Water Service Regulatory Board guidelines for non-renewable water.
“The significant level of non-renewable water is an indication of inefficiency and a lack of effectiveness in the use of public resources," the report reads.
"This may negatively impact the company’s profitability and its long-term sustainability.”
Before 2020, the non-revenue water had fluctuated between 34 and 42 per cent from 2014 to 2019.
The losses rose in 2020 despite a decrease in the production of 3.06 million cubic metres - from the 180.1 million cubic metres produced in the year to June 2019.
In 2019, City Hall netted more than Sh16 million in penalties and court fines for illegal water connections in the capital after the county government launched a major crackdown on cartels perpetuating the vice.
Most of the illegal connections are found in lower-income areas such as Githurai, Zimmerman, Kasarani, Mwiki, Kiamaiko, Huruma, Kariobangi, Mathare North and Kayole as well as Tassia, Baba Dogo, Embakasi, Kware ward and Imara Daima.
Penalties for individuals arrested over illegal water connections amounted to Sh12.9 million while Sh3.19 million was in court fines.
As a result of the crackdown, 1,834 illegal water connections were unearthed, leading to the arrest and prosecution of 232 people, with a further 893 illegal connections regularised.