Vandals cause acute water shortage in Mombasa on X-mas day

Mombasa island residents will spend the festive season without water following a breakdown of the only pipeline that supplies the area.

Water officials attributed the acute shortage to vandalism of the Baricho pipeline at the Nyali Bridge on Monday. The thieves made away with valves and stoppers, forcing the Mombasa Water Supply and Sanitation Company to reroute water to Nyali and Kisauni to avoid waste and to allow repair works.

Managing Director Anthony Njaramba said they were set to restore normal supply yesterday. He said they encountered some challenges in getting the valves and stoppers from suppliers, since the hitch occurred during holidays.

Mr Njaramba told journalists they have been forced to divert water supply to the north coast instead of letting it flow onto the island to minimise losses.

"At the moment repair works is going on to correct the anomaly before water supply to the island resumes. We expect normal supplies by Thursday or Friday," he said.

Njaramba declined to say how the residents will cope without the essential commodity, but assured them the supply would resume soon.

A spot check established that water vendors were recording booming business with the situation getting worse after many households ran out of the commodity.

Water trucks have been moving from one estate to another while vendors in carts have hiked the price of the commodity from Sh20 per jerrican to Sh50.

The most affected areas are Tudor, Makande, Majengo and Ganjoni among others all in Mvita constituency.

Last month, Kenya Power disconnected electricity to the Mombasa Water Supply and Sanitation Company Ltd over an outstanding bill.