KENYA Scaling Nairobi city’s water supply to meet growing demand in informal neighbourhoods

Despite the apparent abundance of its surface water, Kenya, suffers from a chronic water shortage and is officially classified as a “water-stressed country.” 

According to official statistics, only 60% of urban areas and 40% of rural areas have a piped water supply, with supply rates varying enormously. 

The 110 informal neighborhoods in Nairobi cover 5% of the city and account for 50% of its population. 90% of their residents access drinking water through water vendors and spend over 10% of their income on it. 

This project will lead to the development of Nairobi’s “Northern Collector” bulk water supply system by financing the following infrastructure:

• New tunnels and pipes to transfer raw water from the Irati, Gikigie and Maragua rivers to the existing Ndakaini reservoir;
• New pipeline (42 km-long, DN 1,300) to transfer raw water between the Ndakaini reservoir and the new Kigoro treatment plant;
• Construction of a new water treatment plant in Kigoro with a capacity of 121,000 m3/day;
• New pipeline (17 km-long, DN 1,000) to transfer treated water between the Kigoro plant and the Kabete reservoir to the west of Nairobi.

The project also comprises operations to build 10 biocentres in six informal sectors on the outskirts of the city. Besides AFD funds, the overall programme is receiving additional funds from the World Bank ($100m), KfW (30 M €) and EU.

• The direct impact of the project will be to improve drinking water quality for the entire community (four million people, and new access for 180,000 residents in informal neighborhoods), economic actors, and for collective (health, schools, etc.) and administrative uses.
• The improvement in water supply conditions will particularly benefit women and children who carry out the bulk of the water chores in underserved, and primarily in outlying neighborhoods.