Kakamega is increasing water rationing and homes in the municipality will only get water three times a week.
The Kakamega County Urban Water and Sanitation Corporation is struggling to deal with a shortage as demand has far outstripped supply.
The corporation has been rationing water for hours daily in different parts of the town to ensure all customers have some water.
It runs 10 urban schemes.
Speaking to the Star on the phone, CEO Abdi Kadiri on Monday said rationing is necessary because production of water at Tindinyo in Nandi county is not sufficient for continuous supply across the county.
“The rationing is not new. It's only that we have publicised it and people think it’s a new thing because they were not used to it,” he said.
Kadiri advised residents to instal reservoirs to store water .
Tindinyo serves Kakamega town, Shinyalu, Muranda and Shitoli urban schemes.
Mumias and Butere schemes receive water from the Nambacha waterworks in the county. Other schemes are Navakholo, Lumakanda, Kipkaren and Tindinyo.
The corporation receives 13,000 cubic metres from Tindinyo daily against a daily demand of 12,000 cubic metres by Kakamega town.
Of the 13,000 cubic metres of water, 42 per cent or 5,460 cubic metres ,is non-revenue lost through illegal connections and pipes in an old network in the municipality.
This means the supply cannot sustain a 24-hour supply across the county, meaning more rationing.
Insufficient piped water is a major problem as the county seeks to upgrade Kakamega municipality to city status.
Governor Wycliffe Oparanya, now completing his second term, had promised to ensure water in every household if he was reelected in 2017.
Residents are yet to benefit from the Misango water project built by the county and the Kenya Red Cross.
It is not clear how many rural schemes are in Kakamega. They used to be called community water projects overseen by national staff later seconded to counties.
The county is setting up rural water structures to replace the community water projects.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
