Why it is important to fix Kenya’s sanitation problems

Must waste go to waste? This is the question thousands gathered at KICC will be seeking to answer as the Ministry of Water and Sanitation hosts the Kenya Sanitation Conference for the ?rst time, between 28th and 31st October 2019.

The four-day conference also aims at providing practical and innovative solutions towards the containment, collection, conveyance, treatment, disposal and re-cycling of wastewater, and sludge in both rural and urban settings. 

Devolution under Kenya’s new 2010 Constitution has wide-ranging implications for the water sector. The Constitution recognises that access to safe and sufficient water is a basic human right. It also assigns responsibility for water supply and sanitation provision to the 47 counties.

Effective implementation of the new devolved framework now requires the water sector to focus on emerging opportunities and to address several challenges.

Let us have a look at Nairobi County.

Sanitation in Nairobi City County is a major concern to both residents and stakeholders. Waste disposal and management is still an issue that the national and county governments are grappling with. Statistics from the Water Services Management Board indicate that only half of Nairobians is connected to proper sewerage systems in an area that receives about 500 million litres of water every day - 75 per cent of which ends up being wastewater. It also indicates that only 25 per cent of Kenyans enjoy safer and reliable sanitation programs.

Water, Sanitation and Irrigation PS Winnie Guchu say it is time the challenge was sorted and new mechanisms put in place to streamline the system.

"We want to to change the mindset. We are always thinking of bringing in water but pay very little attention to dealing with the dirty water," said the PS.

"The more we don't deal with the dirty water, the more we are killing our clean sources of water," she added.

Eastlands is one the most affected areas of Nairobi due to what stakeholders term as a surge in the population and buildings thus pressure on existing sewerage systems that usually burst out due to that pressure.

Water and Sanitation Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui said new systems are now being put in place to contain the existing pressure.

"Our sewer lines were installed over fifty to sixty years ago when Nairobi population was less than one million so the designed pipes were smaller," CS Chelugui said.

Umoja Two area is one of the hardest-hit areas of Eastlands as residents admit to having had to bear the brunt of poor sanitation and sewerage system for some time now. Eddy Otieno, a resident of  Umoja's Zone Eight said they have had to deal with blocked sewerage systems from time to time and ahead of the Kenya Sanitation Conference set to begin Monday 28th October, he hopes that their issues will be addressed.

"This area has been affected by poor sewer lines, most of the flats you see here have blocked sewers in them and that needs to be addressed," Otieno said.

It is in this reason that Athi Water Works Development Agency has embarked on rehabilitation and restructuring of the sewer systems in Umoja, Parklands, Ruaka among other areas. The agency works in conjunction with Nairobi City County - Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company.

Athi Water Works Development Agency Agency chief executive officer Engineer Thuita Mwangi said they have put in place a multi-billion shillings master plan that will see areas such as Umoja have better sewerage systems once structures are done.

They have already hit the ground running in some areas including Parklands, Umoja, and Ruaka.

"The first plan is to talk to development partners than to resource the sanitation master plan which has been done," Thuita said.

"So far this year we have secured Sh12 billion from the African Development Bank to do some critical interventions," he added.