- City dwellers have for decades, been faced with perennial water crises including water rationing which will now be a thing of the past according to Water and Sanitation Cabinet Secretary Eng Erick Muriithi.
- Muriithi during a tour of the project on Friday noted that Nairobi residents will start getting the essential commodity in their taps in a week.
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Residents of Nairobi City and the larger Metropolitan area can now heave a sigh of relief following the completion of the multi-billion Northern Collector Tunnel project.
City dwellers have for decades, been faced with perennial water crises including water rationing which will now be a thing of the past according to Water and Sanitation Cabinet Secretary Eng Erick Muriithi.
Muriithi during a tour of the project on Friday noted that Nairobi residents will start getting the essential commodity in their taps in a week.
He noted that the Sh9.5 billion project will begin pumping 140 million litres of water daily into Nairobi and surrounding counties as testing and flushing of the 55-kilometre Bulk Water Transmission Pipeline nears completion.
The project draws water from Rivers Gikigie, Mathioya and Irati in Murang’a County and is set to benefit residents in five counties including Nairobi, Machakos, Kajiado, Murang’a and Kiambu.
The Northern Collector Tunnel (NCT) System which was co-financed by the French Development Agency (AFD), the World Bank and the Kenyan government comprises several essential elements, including the Northern Collector Tunnel, the Kigoro Water Treatment Plant, Raw and Treated Water Pipelines, and the Eastern and Western Water Transmission Pipelines.
He noted that the water is being channelled to Ndaka-ini dam in Gatanga sub-county and treated at the Kigoro treatment plant, which is fitted with an automated treatment system able to treat 140,000m3 of water per day, before being pumped to Nairobi, Kiambu and parts of Murang’a.
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“Construction of the water transmission pipelines has been completed. Testing and flushing of 45km has been completed up to Kiambu. Testing and flushing of the outstanding 10km from Kiambu to Gigiri is ongoing and is expected to be completed in a few days,” the CS said.
Muriithi said that after injection of the Kariminu Bulk daily production of 23,000m3 of water per day, Nairobi will get a lion's share of 136,500m3 of water daily. Machakos will get 10,500m3 while Murang’a, Kiambu and Kajiado will get 6000m3,
The CS averred that water rationing that has been a norm in Nairobi and the surrounding areas will be addressed significantly once the project becomes fully operational.
He was accompanied by PS Julius Korir, Athi Water Works Development Authority (AWWDA) Board Chairperson Charles Karondo, and Athi Water CEO Eng Joseph Kamau.
Muriithi reiterated that the government is committed to establishing key infrastructural developments to resolve water challenges in various parts of the country.
He also revealed that there are plans to interconnect a pipeline from Gigiri treatment to Kabete which will save Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company sh 15 million accrued from electricity power. The water will be hauled by gravity.
PS Korir disclosed that the current water demand in Nairobi is 900,000 cubic meters per day against a supply of 560,000 cubic meters.
He also noted that the government is putting in place proper measures to reduce Non-revenue Water from the current 43 per cent to below 25 per cent saying that this will ensure more people benefit from the essential commodity.
He called on water service providers especially Nairobi Water and Sanitation Company, whose Non-revenue water stands at 50 per cent, to ensure that water is protected and availed to consumers at reasonable and affordable rates.
Korir said that the Government is also implementing other projects including the Ruiru II Dam and Maragua Dam which will bridge the water deficit in Nairobi and its environs.
On his part, Karondo hailed the completion of the project as a milestone saying it will bring to an end years of water scarcity to over 1.2 million residents within Nairobi metropolitan.
He also noted that Murang’a residents, in the Gatanga constituency, are already enjoying the vital commodity.
The Northern Collector Tunnel is part of a master plan development strategy for new water sources for Nairobi and 13 satellite towns up to the year 2035.
The project comprises Kenya’s longest tunnel, designed to harvest flood water flows from three rivers in Murang’a County into the existing water supply infrastructure at Ndakaini dam, the main water source for Kenya’s Capital, Nairobi.