Joy as Normal Water Supply Resumes in Nairobi
Normal water supply in Nairobi has resumed after successful repair works at Sasuma dam. The heavy rains experienced last month had tampered with the water pipeline after the dam got full beyond capacity. This affected water supply in most parts of Nairobi, frustrating efforts to fight the Covid-19 pandemic that requires constant supply of water for hand washing and general hygiene. Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko on Monday confirmed that the repair works were complete by last Thursday. The affected areas were Kawangware, Kangemi and part of Eastlands.
“They are connected again and we hope that the problem will never happen again. We have put in place measures to avoid a similar problem in the future,”
Mike Sonko
Residents in the affected areas had to rely on relief water supplied from the Sonko Rescue Team. Some depended on boreholes. Hand washing and regular sanitization measures are part of the regulation stipulated by the World Health Organization to help combat the spread of the deadly virus. Sonko said the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company has other ongoing projects that will help beef up the water deficit in Nairobi. These include the Kabete-South C water tunnel that is almost complete. The project started in November last year.
“This is one of the projects underway and we all know that Northern Water Connection Tunnel will be the game changer as well,”
Mike Sonko
The governor added that several areas within Nairobi will be connected with water supply after completion of borehole drilling.
“We have started with Umoja where we have a modern borehole. Once our engineers have completed with piping and other mechanical work, every household will be connected to water supply,”
Mike Sonko
Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company managing director Nahashon Muguna said the damaged section had a length of 110m with two pipes of diameters 400mm and 450mm running in parallel. The area has poor access road and the terrain is a deep steep valley with a slope of 45 degrees.
“It’s worth to note that Ngethu water treatment plant is operating its design production capacity of 440,00m3/day. In total by June 4, 2020 we shall be supplying the city with 525,600m3/day although the demand of water in the city is 810,000m3/day,”
Mike Sonko
Sonko Rescue Team head of water supply Milton Sagom said areas that have now been covered effectively are Kibra Disabled Center, Kayole Children Centre, Undugu grounds in Langata, Dagoreti Ng’ado area, Jericho Lumumba drive and Maringo. Others are Kissi village, Kasarani, Deep-sea , Kariobangi and Majengo. Sagom added that he is happy with the manner in which locals are adhering with health regulations. “We were mostly covering slum areas. This is our duty and we must ensure that every Nairobian lives happily. Water is a necessity and very essential,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Governor has clarified that the ongoing upgrade of sewer lines in Mukuru slums, Kariobangi and Ruai areas is a project that begun last year but received a lot of resistance from land cartels. He has reiterated his disappointment with the manner in which tenants in the said areas were evicted, noting that the county government had begun consultations on the best way to handle the issue before the state forcefully kicked them out.
“When l said that we have cartels who were holding us at ransom i was referring to some office these projects. They are noble projects but it was never my idea to kick people out and leave them in the cold,”
Mike Sonko
He however says that the sewer line is important in opening up Nairobi for future expansion.
“We all agree that eventually, the sewer line will improve sanitation efforts in our estates and will also give us an opportunity to plan well for future expansion,”
Mike Sonko
