Nairobians living in informal settlements will get cheaper piped water to their households in a long-term plan by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) to enhance sanitation services in the city.
NMS director-general Mohammed Badi stated that the 193 boreholes that it had dug would be integrated into the supply system.
The boreholes were dug by the agency in partnership with Athi Water Works at a cost of Ksh1.7 billion in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The residents had been getting free water from designated water points manned by youth but the NMS boss revealed the long-term plan was to give piped water to the settlements.
The agency's term expires in March 2022, from which the Athi Water Works and the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company will manage the boreholes.
"After NMS’s exit, Nairobi Water and Athi Water Works will take over running the 193 boreholes. They will be expected to provide piped water at subsidised rates to informal settlements.
"Hoping the situation will go back to normal, all they have to do is piping water and connecting metre gauges so slum dwellers pay less than other estates," Badi stated.
Data from Nairobi County indicates that at least two million city residents in the informal settlements are benefiting from the boreholes already dug with an expectation that they would supply more than 40 million litres of water.
Badi, in a previous interview stated that water cartels were behind artificial water shortages in Nairobi adding that they were developing an app to weed out their operations.
He noted that the app was being developed to function like the taxi-hailing app Uber or Little in which customers would be shown all registered water bowsers and choose which one to buy from.
The NMS boss added that the app was being developed by the Ministry of Water after it ordered registration of all water bowsers and exhaust trucks in the city.
