Marsabit Water and Sewerage Company (Marwasco) on Wednesday launched a new water technology utility master system for billing and revenue collection.
The new technology comprises of a water management system that collects, processes and publishes data from transactions and operationalists.
The modern self-service system will allow customers to pay bills online, manage accounts and review consumption information online.
Speaking during the launch of the new system in Saku, Marwasco managing director Sora Katelo said the new system will enable the company to improve its services by eliminating estimated billing.
"With this new system, customers will never be billed on estimates and instead will receive real-time bills," said the MD.
The move now means residents will no longer be billed monthly but according to their water consumption.
The technology also aims to address the challenges of unreliable water supply by enabling revenue generation and collection for providers while allowing full transparency and accountability for consumers.
Before the new billing system was launched, the water provider received numerous complaints of inflated bills from customers.
Katelo said the system uses a utility master system which gives the exact location of the meter, the image of the meter and its accuracy reading.
"This is very critical to our water efficiency programme as we shall have useful data to be used during expansion and improvement," he said
The company's Managing Director said the new billing system will enable customers to pay their bills via online platform and mobile money transfer.
He said that under the new system, meter readings use smartphones to take an image of the meter and its readings and remotely send the readings to the main server at the Mawasacco headquarters which in turn generates bills.
He added that once the bill is generated it is sent to customers via email or text messages within an hour to enable consumers to make payments via their phones.
"With the new system of billings, the bill is processed on the same day the meter is read," said Katelo
Katelo said the new system which was the brains behind the company's new water management will allow customers to read bills online and get more information about water usage.
"The new system known as utility master system will enable the sub-county to move away from the existing minimum billings model towards a system that charges based on actual consumption," he said
He encouraged residents to sign up for the new billing system by visiting the office or online.
He urged individuals planning to drill boreholes to stop as they are competing for the water from the same aquifers.
" To address and sustain the existing boreholes, we have to limit the number of boreholes per area," he said
The managing director said before a licence is issued to an individual intending to drill a borehole, the Water Resource Management Authority need to consult Marsabit water and sewage company.
"WRMA is in charge of licencing and regulating boreholes. Those boreholes compete for the same aquifers underground," he said
County executive committee member for Water, Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources Malicha Boru said the provision of clean and reliable water to residents is one of Governor Mohamud Ali's priorities.
He revealed the county government plans to address water scarcity in the region through drilling and equipping of boreholes.
Malicha said the county government under the leadership of Governor Mohamud Ali has drilled and equipped more than 200 boreholes across the county.
He hailed Marwasco for augmenting the county's efforts in the provision of clean water to the residents.
"Our governor is committed to providing water water for every household in the county. He has instructed us to make sure our people have access to clean and safe water," Malicha said
Water provision in Saku sub county faced several challenges including high electricity bills, high non-revenue water, old dilapidated water infrastructure system as well as low revenue collection.
Marsabit County Secretary Hussein Tari Sasura urged residents to focus on mega projects that can impact a larger population during the public participation exercise.
He said Governor Mohamud Ali's agenda for providing clean and accessible water to all residents is taking shape.
"Governor Mohamud's administration provided plastic water tanks across the county. This will promote rainwater harvesting. There will be an extension of water infrastructure to reach more residents," he said
The county Secretary said a supply of clean and adequate water helps in minimizing waterborne diseases as well as inter-community conflict.
