State committed to reliable water supply in Nairobi

NAIROBI, KENYA: The government has assured Nairobi residents of a commitment to provide sufficient water to meet demands in the county.

Nairobi Metropolitan Services Director Maj. General Mohammed Abdalla Badi noted that the demand for water in Nairobi is very high.

“It is more than 800,000 cubic meters. So, we must ensure that we have the proper infrastructure in place to ensure that we provide water above 800,000 cubic meters per day”

Abdalla said, “We are committed to providing water to meet the demand in Nairobi.”

He spoke on Wednesday at an inspection of the Mathare North Water Supply Project at Mathare North Chiefs Camp attended by CS of Water and Sanitation, Sicily Kariuki.

CS Kariuki flagged off 30 water tanks to serve residents of Mathare. The water tanks, worth over Sh2 million were donated by World Vision Kenya. They will be distributed to various informal settlements across Nairobi to aid in the provision of clean and potable water during the COVID - 19 Pandemic.

In her speech, the CS lauded the efforts of the government and other organizations of setting up various wash points that will help fight the covid19 pandemic.

“We have as of now 5,537 such wash points across the country that we have invested in since the emergence of COVID in March. It means, therefore, working together we can so much more within such a short time as has been demonstrated with the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic.”

One of the representatives from World Vision Kenya reiterated on their commitment to ensuring awareness creation on proper hygiene practices that will minimize the spread of covid19.

“In line with our covid19 response strategy, world vision continues to support awareness creation on recommended hygiene practices and measures in at minimizing the spread of covid19 in communities including scaling up of water access initiative such as drilling and equipping borehole in the 37 counties where we work.”

The Mathare North Project will supply 220,000 litres per day to 12,000 residents of that area. The works are being implemented by the Athi Water Works Development Agency and the Nairobi Metropolitan Services.

Water and Sanitation PS Joseph Irungu, representatives from World Vision Kenya, AWWDA Chair Eng John Kiragu, and CEO Eng. Michael M. Thuita, NCWSC CEO Eng. Muguna, Kiambu County Water & Environment CEC David Kuria among other Senior Officials from the MWSI and Sector Institutions were present.