Kiambu Water and Sewerage Company (KWCL) says illegal water connections in the county is costing it Ksh 80 million in uncollected bills annually.
KWCL Managing Director Boniface Mbugua said besides water theft, the losses also emanate from meter vandalism and road construction during relocation of water pipes.
While speaking during the renewal of the company’s license for another five years by Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB) Mbugua said KIWASCO loses about 34pc of the water they produce.
Mbugua said they are working with the community to identify those taking water illegally and also taking necessary remedial action.
He further said that water is also lost through leakages where the water infrastructure is very old dating back to colonial times and needs to be upgraded to address the unseen leaks and burst pipes.
Mbugua said said the county has managed to install a sewerage system to 80pc and to the mushrooming of Real Estates in the Area, they have set plans to ensure all Estates are going to be Covered.
The Ministry of Water and Sanitation in conjunction with WASREB and Athi Water Works through the ongoing nationwide operations campaign dubbed ‘Linda Maji, Lipa Maji’ to raise public awareness about theft and vandalization of water and sanitation infrastructure in Kiambu sub county through public participation announced that at least 45pc of water produced by water companies is lost through theft, leakages and wastage, this is according to WASREB Manager James Nyutu who led the campaign, said that water theft is costing the country Ksh 11.2 billion annually.
According to Njeri Wambui a resident and customer said that Kiambu water has improved their services hence moving away from community water projects which are ineffective and lack services due to poor management.
Wambui however said that Kiambu water has improved its services where most of us who had shifted to the community water projects have come back, she said they had faced challenges before saying they were paying for Water Connection that would take them a whole year without being Connected to Water.
Thomas Kimani
