3 Coast counties get water after bills are paid

Coast Water Services Board (CWSB) has reconnected water to Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi counties after they paid a Sh40 million debt.

The money is part of an accumulated Sh1.3 billion debt that CSWB has been demanding from the counties since 2013.

Water supply, which had been cut off for one million Coast residents, was resumed after the three counties undertook to offset their pending bills.

CWSB acting Chief Executive Officer Joseph Omwange said Mombasa Water Supply and Sanitation Company paid Sh26 million December 2015 and that the county government had pledged to pay another Sh45 million.

Kwale Water and Sewerage Company and Malindi Water and Sewerage Company paid Sh4.5 million each while Kilifi-Mariakani Water and Sewerage company paid Sh5 million.

Water companies

"We have reconnected the water supply after collecting a total of Sh40 million from the water companies while the county governments pledged to pay promptly in future," Mr Omwange explained.

The water companies are owned by the county governments because the provision of water is a devolved function that is no longer handled by the national government.

In Mombasa, CWSB disconnected supply from all four water sources - Baricho Water Works, Mzima Springs, Tiwi boreholes and Marere Springs plunging the tourist city into crisis.

Besides homes, the move affected provision of crucial services in facilities such as hospitals, hotels, schools and correctional facilities

Meanwhile, the Mombasa Water Supply and Sanitation Company has named several public institutions that have failed to settle their water bills and warned that it will forward them to the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) within the next two weeks unless payment is made.