Kenya Marks Water Week on the 20th -25th November
As Kenya celebrates water week between the 20st-25th November 2016, residents of Kabiria in Dagoretti sub-county have little to celebrate as they rarely get water for their daily use. The site that one is greeted with on visiting the area is that of women, children and men with “mkokoteni” carts carrying water with jerricans.
The problem has been blamed largely on cartels that divert water or vandalize water pipes in low incomes areas so as sell water in those areas.
Kabiria is one of the areas in Nairobi county that has gone for years without clean safe water for their daily use. They mainly rely on water venders to get water, which is mainly from boreholes. The 2013/2014 review of Kenya’s Water Service Sector by the water services regulatory board (Wasreb) indicates that only 53% of town dwellers have clean piped water. Kenya’s millennium development goal number 7 which was to ensure that by 2015 there would be sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
Speaking during the water week conference held at the KICC Kenya has been asked by its development partners to find alternative funding for the water sector as their grants to Kenya are set to go down. this years theme is “From Aid to Trade: Enhancing Business Partnerships and Innovation for Sustainable water and sanitation Provision and irrigation in Africa.”
About 70% of the earth’s surface is covered with water and it is unfortunate that even with that much water, there are still people who do not have access to clean safe water. The Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company limited (NCWSC) is responsible for the supply of water in the county.
Water is a basic need in the households however it is virtually used in every form of industrial processing, manufacturing, mining, oil and gas drilling, production of electricity etc. The current water is not adequate for all these needs thus the ongoing disputed northern collector tunnel project by the government to ensure there increase in water supply to Nairobi county from Muranga. This will see the supply increase to about 140 liters per day.
