Nairobi battles water shortage

Wells and dams to increase Nairobi's water supply.

Nairobi County will have at least one borehole sunk in each of its 85 wards in a bid to end a perennial water shortage, according to plans by the newly-elected Nairobi governor Mike Sonko.

The new plan is in addition to the controversial Northern Water Collector Tunnel which is set to increase the capital's water supply by 140 million litres.

Opponents of the project, which takes water from key tributaries of the Tana River, argue that Nairobi's increased water supply will come at the expense of drought conditions in Kenya's Central and Eastern provinces. The KSH 6.8 billion project is being funded by the World Bank.

Nairobi's water supply will be increased further thanks to the Karimenu dam (70,000m3 per day) and Ruiru II dam (40,000m3 per day), currently under construction in Kiambu County north of the capital.

With a population of three million residents, Nairobi receives a daily water supply of 520 million litres of water against a demand of 750 million litres.