Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

Water Service Providers (WSP) are losing 45 per cent of their water, worth Sh11.2 billion.

The loss is occasioned by both physical and commercial losses, with physical losses requiring huge capital outlay to repair dilapidated water infrastructure inherited from past administrations, some of which date back to colonial times.

WSP Chief Executive Officer Antony Ambugo said to reduce water loss, counties need to invest in modern water treatment works and new reticulation systems equipped with Geographic Information System (GIS).

Ambugo said that such intervention has been done in Nyeri Water and Sanitation Company in 2004, where a new modern water treatment works-Kamakwa and a new reticulation system equipped with GIS was installed at a cost of Sh1.2 billion.

“This has made Nyeri Water to be the best water company in the country for the last 15 years with NRW of 17 per cent lower than the Country benchmark of 25 per cent. This is an indication that the NRW reduction strategies require the support of everyone in raising the billions required to replace the dilapidated infrastructure,” he said.

Yesterday, while appearing before the Senate Public Investment and Special Funds Committee chaired by Vihiga lawmaker Godfrey Osotsi, Ambugo said that commercial losses are a result of human culture and activities aimed at unmetered access to water services.

Commercial loss

Ambugo explained that commercial loss is a product of water users evading metering so that they can use water free of charge.

According to Ambugo, water theft is perpetrated by all customers from low-income to high-income residents, water vendors, and public and private institutions.

“Commercial losses require heavy investment in smart metering and constituent technologies and behavioural and culture change within the staff of our Companies, public and state officers and customers. This is one of the greatest challenges confronting WSPs.

“Currently, we are losing 45 per cent of the water produced which has a monetary value of Sh11.2 billion. The components of NRW are both physical and commercial losses,” said Ambugo.

And now Ambugo is proposing that the National Government should allocate conditional grants to WSPs for Non-Revenue Management and that County Governments should also allocate a reasonable percentage of the County Budget for Water Service Providers to manage their resources.