Nairobi Water admits supplying salty water to city residents

Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company was on Wednesday forced to shed light on why they sell borehole water to some areas in Nairobi.

This emerged after some residents of Lower Savannah petitioned the Nairobi County Assembly Committee in charge of Water and Sanitation, citing that borehole water could expose them to diseases.

Appearing before the committee, Nairobi Water Company Acting Managing Director, Martin Nang'ole admitted to supplying salty water from boreholes which were drilled by the now-defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services.

Nang’ole told the Committee that  Nairobi Water distributes about 660,000 cubic meters per day against a demand of 935,000 cubic meters, noting that the only option to meet the demand is by mixing fresh and salty water.

He explained, High-yield boreholes whose water quality is within acceptable limits may be connected to the distribution system to help bridge the demand deficit.”

Some residents from the Lower Savannah who were present at the sitting stated the company was supplying pure salty water about three times a week.

Member of County Assembly for Lower Savannah in Embakasi East David Odhiambo Magoba led the residents in petitioning the Assembly to compel the Nairobi Water to address the matter within the shortest time possible.

“There are zones within the ward that receive salty water daily, and some receive a mixture of the fresh and salty water. We want to know why they are mixing fresh and salt water,” Odhiambo said, adding that borehole water was supposed to be free during NMS tenure.

As a result, the locals claimed that they had developed discoloured teeth due to high levels of chemicals in borehole water.