The Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company has moved to restore water supply to some parts of the city after a public outcry. Taps had ran dry in most estates in Eastlands and several slums a week ago, forcing the residents to resort to vendors, who had hiked prices for the commodity.
In Buru Buru, the water company restored the supply in Phases 3, 4 and 5 on Tuesday night. But yesterday, some residents of Phase 5 said their taps had run dry, again.
“Since Thursday last week we have not had water in this area. We tried to reach Nairobi water but the response was slow,” resident Joakim Nyongesa said.
In Mathare North, Kariobangi and Korogocho slums, the residents say water situation in the area has not improved since January. They say they buy a 20-litre jerrican of water for between Sh60 and Sh80 from vendors.
“We are buying water, unga and paying rent. The cost of living is unbearable and we pleading with the government to at least give us water,” resident John Omondi said.
NCWSC head of corporate affairs Mbaruku Vyakweli said the “disconnection” was part of the rationing programme that the company was undertaking because of the declining water level at the Ndakaini Dam.
He said that despite the rains experienced in the last month, water level at the dam, which supplies 85 per cent of water to the city, has only moved to 37 per cent from 21 per cent in April.
“The fact is that the situation has not improved. Improvement in water level has not been drastic. That is why we are still experiencing all these problems. The day we will hit 60 per cent, then we will have stable supply,” he said on the phone yesterday.
Nairobi has been experiencing acute water shortage since January due to an all-time drop in water level at Ndakaini Dam. The drop was a result of prolonged drought in the Aberdares, Kikuyu and Mt Kenya, the main water catchments for rivers feeding the dam. The county and the national government have been sinking 40 boreholes across the county — a short-term measure to mitigate the shortage.