Water vendors using bowsers within the newly established Metropolitan area will have to apply for registration.
This is amid efforts to weed out cartels that infringed the water sector leaving Nairobians with dry taps.
In new guidelines put in place by the Water Services Regulatory Board, the vendors will now undergo strict vetting and licensing before hitting the road.
According to the guidelines, the vendors have until May 15 to apply for registration.
Any person who will be found culpable of providing water services after the said deadline without a license will be liable for prosecution.
“The objective of this registration is to ensure that consumers of the water distributed by water bowsers are of consumable quality,” Engineer Michael Thuita said.
The Athi River Water Works Development Agency (AWWDA) Chief Executive Officer said through these guidelines, they will be able to track where the water is coming from and even the consumers.
Thuita said with the current Covid-19, public health must be taken seriously.
“Every drop of water that is being consumed in Nairobi, either for domestic or hand washing, the quality check is very important. We want to ensure that within the Nairobi Metropolis, the quality of the water that is distributed by the water bowser services is of admittable quality.
The regulations will also apply to exhausters, gated community water providers, private boreholes owners engaging in community water supply and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) water projects.
Part of the new guidelines is the development of an app that will enable consumers to trace the water providers.
Using the app, a consumer can order the amount of water they need and they will be directed to the vendor.
Thuita said there have been numerous allegations that some of the exhauster operators empty human waste in rivers thus contributing to pollution.
“No one will just walk into the business. We will be able to track the exhausters, right from where it is exhausting and where it is emptying,” he said.
His sentiments were echoed by the chairman of Dagoretti Water and exhausters Services John Waweru who welcomed the move saying it will help bring sanity in the sector.
“It is a good thing and for everybody who is in this business to be on the same platform so that we wipe out cartels. We have heard of this name cartel for a long time, now we are going to catch them,” Waweru says.
Waweru said the organization was sensitizing its members about the new regulations and sharing details on how to register.
