The riddle of ‘water shortage’ in Nairobi

Slightly more than two months from the date the text message was sent, the estate is deep into an acute water shortage that has no signs of letting up.

“This is now our fourth month without water. Water that used to flow freely here is now a distant memory. Seeing even a drop trickling from the tap is next to a miracle. We wonder why some apartments sharing the same line have not been affected,” says a tenant.

But the problem is not unique to Sandalwood Clyde. The neighbouring Sohill Gardens, King’ara Heights, and Malberry, among others, are also affected.

It is now common to see water bowsers doing rounds in the upmarket neighbourhood as water vendors make a killing from what is now emerging to be an artificial shortage.

The tenants say they now spend on average Sh10,000 a month to buy the now-rare commodity, as the water vendors, whose numbers in the area have suddenly increased, sell a 5,000-litre tank at Sh5,000. This, from the roughly Sh1,500 each household would pay monthly in water bills to the water company.

“Despite the huge amounts, we don’t know the safety of this water. I remember one time, my entire household fell sick after using such water, which was slimy,” says the tenant.

The neighbourhood, under Nairobi Southern region according to Nairobi Water, has been receiving water on Tuesday and Thursday under Nairobi’s water rationing programme that began in April 2017.

Water problems in Nairobi

“We have never had issues with water before, even at the height of the water rationing programme. We are suffering. We already have enough stress as a result of Covid-19 and then this.”

The tenants suspect sabotage, accusing some engineers at the regional office of colluding with water vendors and caretakers to cause the artificial shortage to turn them into their cash cows. 

“We have called the regional distribution manager but he has ignored our pleas. He now disconnects when you call him. Even a call to the managing director has borne no fruit. Today they say pressure, tomorrow they are repairing their pipes, so there is no consistency in their responses,” says Dan Otieno, a tenant.

Nairobi Water Managing Director Nahashon Muguna admits to having received complaints from the tenants about the problem.

“I came to know about the problem on Tuesday from Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa and we are handling it to know the cause. We will solve it,” he promises.

However, he says the only way to solve the scarcity is by providing the scarce commodity, which is not currently enough, to the city’s five million residents.

“It is not that Nairobi Water is denying people water. If you deny them water, where do you get your revenue from? If you have a case of someone buying water from our system and selling, or any staff member sabotaging the process, please let’s know and we will take action,” says Mr Muguna. 

Water problems in Nairobi are age-old, but biting shortages began with the advent of the rationing in 2017, and have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nairobi residents currently depend on water supplied by Ndakaini Dam through the Ngethu Water treatment plant, supplying 480 million litres of water to Nairobi daily; Sasumua supplying 59 million litres of water daily while Ruiru 1 Dam and Kikuyu Springs contribute 26.8 million litres daily.

Mr Muguna explains that the demand for water in Nairobi is around 850,000 cubic metres (m³), which grows by 20,000 every year, yet the supply is 525,000m³. This means that only around 62 percent of the water demand in the city is met.

He points out that the last time water supply for Nairobi was developed was in 1987 and it was meant to serve the city up to the year 2000.

“This means that the water we are using today is not for anyone born after 2000. So nobody is denying anyone water, but we will respond to the pockets of areas with the shortages,” he says.

Mr James Omari is a water bowser driver selling water in Lang’ata. He says that for the last three years, he has been supplying residents of Uhuru Gardens Estate Phases 1 and 2, Park 2 estate and Royal Park estate.
Ms Jackline Atieno, a Park 2 estate tenant, says there have been water challenges since 2016, before it changed in 2019 when they began getting water twice a week.

In the meantime, Nairobi Water officers would visit the area and tell them to contribute money to be used to fix their pipes, informing them that the line they were on no longer had water connection.

According to her, the problem has been vandalism and tampering with pipes by caretakers as well as collusion between Nairobi water officials, water vendors and the caretakers.

“I always used to wonder how fast the water vendors would arrive at the estate whenever we would complain about lack of water. I used to spend Sh720 every three days on top of the Sh400 monthly fixed fee due to Nairobi Water,” says Ms Atieno.

The area has been synonymous with water problems and Mr Omari points out that he usually makes up to five trips daily to supply water.

“There is no water in this area and we get this water from boreholes in Karen. We sell as from 1,000 litres, which goes for Sh700,” he adds.

Mr Muguna points out the elevation of Royal Park, and says the water line -- the Uthiru-Kabete pipeline -- cannot supply water to the area.

“The estate is part of a forest and was not supposed to be a residential area and this has been the challenge,” he explains.

However, he says the challenge is being resolved by taking water through the Uthiru-Karen line then gravitating it through Lang’ata Road. 

“We are laying pipes and the pumping station is being expanded to be able to do that. There is no any other way. The modifications are being done with a view to solving water problems in Karen and parts of Lang’ata,” the MD expounds.

Early this month, the utility firm announced that it was upgrading the Dagoretti and Uthiru pumps at Kabete Water Works Pumping Station.

Some of the estates in the city with water problems have old pipes, which the company has been replacing, says Mr Muguna.

“We have been removing the old pipes and putting in new ones. We have done that in several estates in Nairobi, especially in Lang’ata in areas like Otiende Estate; Buruburu and other areas.”

Metres away, at the Southland/Kijiji water supply point, close to 100 jerrycans stand in the scorching sun. 

A caretaker of the water point, built by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS), together with the national government, through the Athi Water Works Development Agency as part of 193 boreholes across informal settlements in the city, says the distribution starts at 7am and ends at 7pm.

“The jerricans are lying empty because the water is being pumped to Ngei Primary School, which has been without water for a while. After that is done, we will start serving residents,” says the caretaker only identified as Wa Ingo. “This borehole has really helped alleviate water problem which was here.”

“Water comes in this area twice a week but on different days. Sometimes it doesn’t. We are forced to buy water many times,” says a resident.

According to the resident, there is a woman who used to be the sole distributor of water in the area but she is being slowly pushed out of business by the free water from NMS boreholes.

But Mr Muguna says the residents do not have large storage to help amid water rationing, so they have to supplement with water from the boreholes.

“The beauty of the water from the borehole is that it is potable, safe for use, unlike other boreholes in the city.”

Outside Ngei Primary, Mr Jack Esala, a water vendor is loading his handcart. He sells water in 20-litre jerricans and on a bad day, he sells 30 such jerricans and up to 100 on good days, with each going for Sh20.

He has been in the business for three years.

“The problem here is that there are people who steal the water from the main pipe by blocking the water pipes and reducing the pressure so that it does not get to other residents,” he says.

In Kibera, Mashimoni is a community water project by youth groups in the area. Water retails at Sh5 for a 20-litre container.

“Water is no longer a problem here as it used to be before, when we had to walk kilometres to Jamhuri Showground, Lindi and Kenyatta Market to get the commodity,” says a resident who was drawing water from the tank.

However, she says the money goes to the pockets of an individual who owns the tank and is receiving his supply directly from Nairobi Water.

But Mr Muguna says that the way Kibera is, it is impossible to effectively distribute water in the area, and cartels thrive on that. 

“How do you fight cartels when the commodity is not there? The only way to fight them is to make sure the commodity is readily available. Unless you tell me that the government will form a police force to guard water in Nairobi. Again, the water is within Nairobi and is not being moved outside the city,” he says.

Ms Jane Tina, a Nyayo Estate resident, says three years ago she could use her bathtub, but that is no more.

The situation has been deteriorating and two months ago, water supply stopped, only for the situation to start improving the last week.

“I have been forced to spend Sh2,000 every week on water for my household of five. Then spend another Sh500 on bottled water for cooking as I don’t use the borehole water for cooking because of the high fluoride content,” she explains. 

In Mukuru slum, South B, the residents say they still suffer water shortages, though it has improved somewhat since the NMS came in.

The focus has been on Mukuru kwa Reuben, which has 11 villages, but only four have reliable supply of water. Gatoto, Rurie, Feed the Children, Simba village and parts of Kosovo have benefited from NMS’ water points.

However, Wesinya, Railways Village, Diamond A, B and C, and Gateway are still to get the water points.

“We still buy water at between Sh5 and Sh10 for a 20-litre jerrican, but we must admit that many areas now have water as a result of boreholes drilled by NMS as well as supplying residents with free water through the water bowsers,” says Ms Roselyn Asena.

Mr Muguna points out that the 193 boreholes built by the NMS have the capacity to produce 14,000m³ of water daily and informal settlements in the city have been the greatest beneficiaries.

[email protected]