Kenya’s Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB) has released its 17th
annual IMPACT Report, showing improvements in water service delivery across the
country.
The report was launched on June 25, 2025, at PrideInn Paradise Beach Resort
in Mombasa County.
The report reviewed the performance of 92 water
service providers, including 88 public and 4 private ones, and also looked at
how all 47 county governments performed in the 2023/2024 financial year.
It included data from urban utilities
and smaller providers in underserved rural areas.
WASREB used nine key indicators to assess
performance.
These included water coverage, water quality, hours of supply, metering,
staff productivity, revenue collection, non-revenue water, personnel spending,
and how well providers were covering their operating costs.
Water coverage improved from 65% to 70%. This
means about 3.27 million more people got access to piped water, raising the
total number served to 21.5 million.
The number of active connections also grew by 2%, reaching 1.85 million.
Even though water production increased by only 2%, the sector reported a 9%
increase in revenue.
The average quality of drinking water dropped
slightly from 90% to 89%, mainly due to poor performance by larger utilities.
WASREB urged providers to step up monitoring and implement water safety
plans.
On average, water was available for 17 hours a
day, with slight improvements seen among smaller utilities. However, daily
water use per person dropped from 28 to 26 liters, which could point to
problems in supply or access.
Non-revenue water, which includes losses
through leaks or theft, rose from 43% to 45%. This led to losses worth about Sh11.9
billion and 203 million cubic meters of water. WASREB said this remains one of
the biggest problems in the sector.
Metering remained high at 97%, which helps
track water use and detect losses.
Staff productivity held steady at about seven employees per 1,000
connections, with smaller utilities needing more staff to serve fewer
connections.
Revenue collection improved from 93% to 95%,
meaning more customers paid their bills. Spending on staff salaries slightly
dropped from 48% to 47% of operational costs.
Cost coverage also improved from 95% to 98%, a sign that financial
sustainability is improving after three years of decline.
Sanitation services remained widely available
at 92%, but sewer coverage slightly dropped from 16% to 15%.
While the number of people with access to sewerage grew by over 319,000, it
did not keep pace with the total population increase in service areas.
On average, 12 people now rely on each sewer connection, up from 11 last
year.
WASREB said the report supports its mandate
under the Water Act 2016 to ensure that water and sanitation providers are
transparent and accountable to the public.
Despite challenges, especially with water
losses and sanitation infrastructure, the report shows steady progress in water
access and financial management.
The gains strengthen the goal of achieving universal water and sanitation
coverage in Kenya.
