Water bills to go up as State charges city county for the supply
By Rawlings, June 30, 2023
The State has announced plans to charge the Nairobi County government for the water it supplies to its residents, a move that will see water bills shoot up amidst the high cost of living.
Yesterday, Water and Sanitation Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome revealed that the government is working on legislation to compel the county to pay for the commodity.
“The service providers together with the county governments who are in charge of the service providers will start paying for the bulk water,” Wahome said.
While appearing before the Senate’s Land and Water committee chaired by Nyandarua lawmaker John Methu, Wahome said that the Nairobi City government will have to pay for the water, which it receives, from Ndakaini, Sasumua, Konike and Thika Dams-all located outside the city.
The revelations mean the city county, through the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company NCWSC), would hike water prices as it ventures into a fully commercial exercise.
“We have talked with Governor Sakaja. In fact, I would say that he is progressive and he is waiting. He has no objection. He is in this conversation,” she said.
Wahome was responding to a petition by Nyandarua County Assembly seeking compensation from the government for the water the county supplies to Nairobi.
Nairobi City County mainly receives its water from Ndakaini located in Murangá, Thika Dam in Kiambu while Konoike and Sasamua Dams are situated in Nyandarua County.
Sasumua Dam, one of Kenya’s largest dams, is a man-made reservoir that has a total storage capacity of approximately 32 million cubic meters of water and collects water from four rivers located in Nyandarua County.
Currently, the City County does not pay the counties or the national government for the resource that it sells to its residents.
According to Wahome, the plan to charge the counties for water will make them and their service providers be more responsible – minimise water loss, and theft and avoid leakages.
The counties hosting the catchment areas-Nyandarua, Muranga and Kiambu have demanded compensation from the Johnson Sakaja-led County executive or the national government for preserving the areas.