Water shortages to persist
City residents will have to bear with water shortages at least until the next rainy season or when water expansion projects for the city are completed.
Nairobi City Water and Sewarage Company (NCWSC) said water needs among the residents have gone up tremendously because of dry weather while production has remained the same.
But, it is the loss of thousands of cubic metres of water through spillage and illegal water connections that has made the situation even worse.
According to NCWSC Head of Corporate Communication Mbaruku Vyakweli, non-revenue water loss (spillage and illegal connections) accounts to more than 40 per cent (over 200,000 cubic metres) per day.
This water if put to good use could benefit thousands of Nairobi residents who resorted to buying it at exorbitant prices from cartels.
Nairobi has a daily supply of 550,000 cubic metres per day against a daily demand of 690,000 cubic metres.
“We want to invest heavily in reducing the amount of water that is lost per day. If we could control this to at least 20 per cent, then we could have residents have adequate water supply. The international accepted standard is 12 per cent,” he said.
Mr Vyakweli said the percentage of water lost was as high as 45 per cent in the past few years. Nairobi gets 80 per cent of its water from Ndakaini Dam, 15 per cent from Sasumua, three per cent from Ruiru Dam and two per cent from Kikuyu Springs.
The government is currently working to expand the water system to cater for increased needs even when NCWSC admits that there is need to cut water being lost through spillage and illegal connections.