Plan to end water problem encouraging

Early this week, President Uhuru Kenyatta was briefed on plans to make Nairobi and other cities water sufficient by 2020.

That most water taps in these towns, especially Nairobi, remain dry for most of the time is nothing new. It is therefore comforting that something is being done to cure the problem that makes city life depressing for most city residents.

The Nairobi water infrastructure is rain-fed. Surface water from rain is collected in reservoirs for distribution. Long spells of dry weather therefore lead to water shortage. That calls for prudent ways of collecting, preserving and using the precious commodity. But that has proved a challenge.

The city gets 520 million litres of water daily, 250 million litres less than the demand. The anticipated completion of the Northern Water Tunnel from Murang’a and Karimeni 2 and Ruiru 2 dams will significantly reduce this deficit.

Mombasa, Kisumu and Nakuru which face the same problem, have similar plans in the pipeline.

It is easy to blame poor rainfall for the water problem in these towns. But discounting the ineptitude of local authorities would be dishonest. Poor town planning, leakages from vandalism and breakages in part account for perennial water shortages. But there are areas where taps never run dry, for example.

Harvesting rain water and facilitating city residents to do the same would go a long way in addressing water shortage not just in Nairobi, but other urban centres across the country.

It is encouraging that the national government is not taking the water scarcity problem lightly.