Through Water Resources Authority (WRA), the government charges borehole owners for the amount of water they draw.
Through a smart metre, the government can monitor the water you use and bill you monthly under the 'water use charges' category.
The provision to make the charges is provided in the Kenya Subsidiary Legislation of 2021.
On why the government charges borehole owners, the law states, "Water use activity is deemed by virtue of its scale to have the potential to make a significant impact on the water resource."
Due to that factor, WRA makes the charges with the objective of natural resources management and conflict resolution.
WRA classifies boreholes from Category A through Category D according to the type of water usage and its impact on the water resource.
According to WRA, Category A borehole refers to social water, while Category B and C cover private and economic boreholes.
Category D involves either international waters, two different catchment areas, or is of a large scale or complexity nature.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.kea representative from WRA explained that Category A only is exempt from the monthly charges.
“It does not matter if the borehole is for private use or you are selling the water, the Authority charges monthly depending on the amount you draw,” the representative explained.
On how much Kenyans need to pay for their boreholes, WRA explained, “That will depend on two factors. The amount of water you use per month and the location of the borehole.”
The representative from WRA told Kenyans.co.ke that different regions are charged differently, and charge rates can be found in all WRA offices countrywide.
The Kenya Subsidiary Legislation 2021 state that Each Category B, C or D permit holder is required to maintain a record of the daily abstraction or effluent discharge, in cubic metres per day, made by him or her.
“The record shall state the permit number, date and volume of abstraction or discharge,” the law states.
To make sure that every Kenyan complies, the law states, “In the event that the permit holder does not submit readings of the quantity of water used, the Authority shall take readings of the quantity of water used provided that if the Authority reasonably believes that the meter readings are inaccurate, the Authority shall make a fair estimate of the quantity of water used.”
If you tamper with the metre, WRA is entitled to charge for the under-declared water use in arrears.
