By Sharon Atieno
It’s 10.00 am on Sunday, Margaret Nasimiyu, a resident of Ngomongo area within Korogocho ward, Nairobi City is armed with three jerricans fetching water from a water dispensing machine.
She notes that the machines, installed by the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC), are a source of relief for her and her family as she can access the water any time regardless of the ongoing water rationing programme being experienced in parts of her neighbourhood.
“We normally get water from our neighbour who has direct access to piped water from the government, however, from Thursday to Sunday every week, there is no water due to the rationing,” she says.
All Nasimiyu does is load up her plastic chip with credit. This can be as low as shs. 50 (about half a dollar). The chip is what she uses to access the water from the machine.
This is one of the interventions being used by NCWSC to increase water accessibility in the city.
Nairobi’s water demand beats supply with a deficit of about 265,000 cubic metres per day. Leakages due to old infrastructure and pipe interference, illegal connections, vandalism and catchment degradation among others are some of the challenges affecting water access in Nairobi City.
These challenges often leave city dwellers especially in informal settlements like Korogocho- one of the largest slum neighbourhoods in Nairobi- at the mercy of cartels who sell clean water at exorbitant prices of between shs. 20 to 50 ( about half a dollar) for a 20 litre jerry can.
A 2019 survey by the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner on RIGHT TO WATER IN KENYA: ASSESSMENT OF ACCESS TO WATER IN INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS found that in urban areas water commonly costs less per litre in middle class neighbourhoods (where there is piped water) than in informal settlements (where the majority rely on water vendors).
The organization in partnership with the Social Justice Centres conducted a household survey on 184 households (79% Nairobi, 12% Mombasa / Coast, 9% Kisumu/Nyanza) looked at access to and affordability of water. In addition, 21 focus group discussions were conducted in the three regions, with the participation of 139 people.
The survey noted that residents in informal settlements pay almost 50 times more the price of water per litre than middle class households at the range of shs.10-50 for a 20 litre jerrycan compared to shs. 34-53 per cubic metre (1000 litres) in the middle class households.
According to the UN, water should be affordable not exceeding 3% of household income yet the survey found that only a minority (22%) of respondents spent less than 3% of household income on water. The majority (35%) spent between 3-10% of household income, and a significant percentage (17%) spent over 20% of household income on water.
However, with the rate at which urbanization is taking place in the continent, the water situation will likely worsen in African cities like Nairobi.
Between 1990 and 2020, the number of cities in Africa leaped from 3,300 to 7,600. Expectedly, urban population also increased by 500 million. By 2050, more than 1.3 billion people in Africa will be living in urban areas, according to UN estimates.
According to the World Bank the increase in water demand in Africa between 2005 and 2030 is projected to be 283 percent—three times higher than almost any other region. A significant portion of this new demand (an estimated 92 billion cubic meters or 20 per cent) will come from the municipal and domestic sectors.
Further, the newly launched State of Africa’s Environment 2024 report by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), notes that at least 24 large cities in 15 countries across Africa are likely to be water-scarce by 2050. These countries include Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan and Tunisia.
In Nigeria, for instance, there will be a 277 per cent increase in water scarce urban residents while in Egypt there will be about 3,155 per cent increase.
The potential of rainwater
Besides innovations such as the water dispensing machine, engineer Susan Masila says rainwater harvesting has the potential to solve some of the pressure in urban water systems.
According to the water and sanitation consultant at Amazi Water, Burundi, the method which is commonly used in rural areas can be adopted to urban setting through urban potential- urban areas with high density and infrastructure offering significant surface for rainwater collection(storm water).
“ Roof tops of homes, schools and office buildings can be fitted with rainwater harvesting systems providing supplementary water especially for non-portable uses such as irrigation and sanitation, thus reducing the burden on municipal water supplies,” Eng. Masila reiterated.
According to calculations conducted by CSE, Sub-Saharan Africa has rainwater harvesting potential of 13,365,000 million cubic metres. This is nearly 44,550 times the average volume of water that flows through the Nile River per day.
Similarly, a 2006 study conducted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Agroforestry Centre found that African countries suffering or facing water shortages as a result of climate change have a massive potential in rainwater harvesting, with nations like Ethiopia and Kenya capable of meeting the needs of six to seven times their current populations.
However, Eng. Masila notes that there are challenges that come with rainwater harvesting in urban areas. One of them is the water quality. In urban centres, rainwater can be contaminated by pollution or debris.
“Ensuring that the harvested water is safe for use may require additional filtration and treatment which can be costly,” she said.
Urban settings also lack space for large scale storage tanks limiting the volume of water than can be harvested.
Additionally, Eng. Masila said many cities lack policies and incentives to promote widespread adoption of rainwater harvesting at the household or institutional levels. Therefore, raising awareness and integrating rainwater harvesting into urban planning is essential.
Already, the State of Africa’s Environment 2024 report notes that several countries have started implementing or are gearing up for rainwater harvesting in urban areas. Tanzania, for instance, has adopted a rainwater harvesting policy to promote sustainable and efficient use of rainwater.
Ethiopia has launched a national rainwater harvesting initiative called “My dam at My door”. The government has observed that as a result of the initiative, an additional four million Ethiopians plus are getting access to clean drinking water.
“ Rainwater harvesting although traditionally rural can play a critical role in urban water management provided that the necessary systems are in place to overcome the challenges posed by the urban environments,” she said.
