Water supply crisis deepens in Mombasa as locals mark Ramadhan

A water vendor pulling water on the streets of Mombasa. [Omondi Onyango,Standard]

Prolonged drought, leakages and illegal connections could have worsened the water supply problem in Mombasa City in recent months.

Most parts of the city are facing severe water shortages, forcing Mombasa Water and Sanitation Company (Mowasco) to up rationing of the commodity amid protests from locals cut off from the supply for days.

Mowasco technical services engineer Timothy Mugo said the drought had worsened the situation and that they were hoping the onset of rains and the construction of the Sh25 billion Mwache dam in Kinango sub-county, Kwale County would ease the situation.

The dam is 22 kilometres from Mombasa. The city barely gets 35,000 cubic metres a day against a demand of over 200,000 cubic metres. Mugo said the firm had experienced a huge drop in the supply of bulk water from the Coast Water Works Development Agency (CWWDA). He said the shortage was occasioned by the droughts in Kilifi, Taita Taveta, and Kwale counties that supply Mombasa.

Mugo said that water demand for the county stands at 200,000 cubic metres per day against the supply of between 30,000 and 35000 cubic metres, a drop from 40,000 cubic metres previously.

"Bulk water is supplied from Baricho in Kilifi, Mzima in Taita Taita, and Marere springs and Tiwi boreholes in Kwale. No area in Mombasa gets adequate water," he said. Two weeks ago, President William Ruto launched the construction that would supply water to Mombasa County.

CWWDA acting chief executive Martin Tsuma explained that the acute shortage had been a result of a long period when the government did not develop a major water project.

Tsuma observed that while the Indian Ocean presents a large water board, desalination proves to be costly, particularly through the heavy consumption of electricity. On average globally, he notes, it costs two dollars (Sh260) to desalinate one cubic metre.

This water has to be sold at about Sh600 to recover the cost of operations and maintenance.

He said since 1980, there had been no major water project at the Coast, adding that pipelines such as Marere and Mzima are old. He, however, expressed optimism that the water shortage would be fixed once the Mwache dam, Mzima II and Baricho II pipeline projects are completed.

Last week, residents of Mombasa's Old Town stormed Mowasco offices demanding to be supplied with water.