Water Boards embrace new standards to combat leakages
The Principal Secretary for Water and Sanitation, Dr Kipronoh Ronoh, has urged all water boards in the country to upgrade their systems to prevent water losses.
Speaking at the launch of the Non-Revenue Water Management Standards, which will be applicable to all water service providers across the country, the PS said the system will also help in revenue collection.
“Speed and quality of repair once a leak is detected, active leakage control mechanisms, asset management and pressure management as short and long term measures,” the PS said.
NRW in the ministry dates back to 2009 when the unit was officially formed to deal with water losses in terms of new technology.
The country’s NRW is at 45 percent compared to Japan, which is at 10 percent.
The PS said there was an urgent need to develop new strategies for the country to manage NRW to acceptable standards.
Kenya is one of the few countries in Africa to have adopted the Non-Revenue Water Management Standards.
“There is an urgent need for all WSPs to meet, implement and operationalise the standards in order to provide water to citizens as stipulated in the 2010 Constitution and the 2016 Water Act.”
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The PS commended the Meru and Nyeri water utilities for addressing the NRW issue with technical support from JICA.
In one of the cities in Japan, NRW has been achieved as low as 1.5%. The JICA team is in Kenya to train the WSPs on best practices in managing NRW.
The PS has also directed the following agencies to comply with the standards to reduce NRW from the current 45% to 5% within the next 3 years:
“KEWI to strengthen training programmes for NRW and provide at least 3 certified staff to be employed by the 88 WSPs registered by WASPA”.
WASREB will take the lead and ensure the standards’ implementation and develop a working mechanism within 3 months.
Further, the PS said that WASREB is expected to come up with a drastic review of equipment and technology to be used by the district government through smart meters.
WRA to ensure that bulk water usage is monitored for compliance within 1 year.
WSPs to urgently establish the NRW Division and appoint the best staff with high integrity standards to manage the unit’s affairs.
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