The Water Resources Authority (WRA) has launched a survey of all boreholes in the Karen and Lang'ata areas of Nairobi following complaints from residents that aquifers are facing severe depletion due to excessive drilling and overuse of boreholes.
In March, the Environment and Land Court (ELC) ordered the WRA to conduct a physical survey of all boreholes in the Karen area within 60 days, in accordance with the Water Resources Regulations.
The court ordered the authority to verify borehole authorisations, locations, distances between wells, construction details, ages, current uses and water abstraction levels.
The case was brought by the Karen and Lang'ata District Association, who raised concerns that the average groundwater level in the area had dropped by around 79 metres, which threatens sustainable access to water.
“In compliance with the court order, WRA intends to commence the physical survey of all boreholes within Karengata area on May 11, 2026. The exercise is expected to take approximately two months and shall be undertaken in accordance with the provisions of the Water Act, and the Water Resources Regulations,” the authority said in a statement.
The WRA announced that it would carry out door-to-door inspections and asked residents to cooperate by granting access to borehole sites and providing any additional information required during the process.
In the petition, the association accused the WRA and the Water Services Regulatory Board of inaction, allowing over-abstraction to continue unchecked and thereby violating residents’ constitutional right to clean and safe water.
Residents also complained that unchecked drilling of boreholes close to one another had led to aquifer depletion, declining water tables and well interference. This is contrary to the precautionary principle, which requires the prevention of environmental harm even in the absence of full scientific certainty.
In its judgment, the court found that a resident had abused a permit for domestic water use by over-abstracting 201,219 cubic metres of water, which is 12 times the permitted limit — equivalent to renewing a five-year permit five times, or the equivalent of 25 years' worth of water.
The court directed the WRA to publish the Nairobi Aquifer Allocation Plan on its website and in its offices, as required by the Water Resources Regulations.
The residents claimed that their neighbour had violated their economic and social rights to clean and safe water, and had acted contrary to the Karengata Local Physical Development Plan (LPDP) 2016 by selling water commercially despite holding a domestic permit issued in June 2019.
The association also criticised the WRA for failing to determine aquifer allocation plans and proper borehole spacing, which should be at least 500 metres.
“On account of inadequate public water supply and the consequent high density of boreholes per square kilometre, the aquifers are being depleted at an alarming rate. Ten years ago, boreholes were dug to depths of between 100 and 200 metres. The majority of those boreholes at those depths have dried up, and it is now common to dig up to 400 metres to access water,” the association said.
The WRA confirmed that the permit issued to the resident was for domestic use, with a daily allocation of 20 cubic metres.
The authority added that the Nairobi Aquifer Suite covers 5,816 km², spanning Nairobi, Kajiado, Machakos, Kiambu, Murang'a and Nyandarua counties, and supplies groundwater for domestic, public, irrigation and industrial use in the Nairobi metropolitan area.
The WRA said that it is finalising the Nairobi Aquifer Water Allocation Plan, which has undergone stakeholder consultations and is currently in draft form.
