Nairobi City residents are staring at an end of the perennial water crisis that has bedeviled them for decades.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has announced that the much hyped Northern Collector Tunnel is set to be launched on February 25, 2023.
On Thursday, Sakaja confirmed that the Sh8.2 billion project will be launched by President William Ruto.
“I’m happy to announce that together with the President we will launch the Northern Collector Water next month,” he said.
He said that the Nairobi City County government and the national government had addressed the challenges that had delayed the launch of the project.
“I want to thank President Ruto who has been extremely supportive of my leadership. On Monday together with him, we made a few calls and everything was set,” he said.
“The project which was meant to be launched to be launched in 2024 will be done next month,” Sakaja added.
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Tunnel to Solve Nairobi Water Crisis
The mega Northern Collector Tunnel is set to pump 140 million litres of water daily into Nairobi.
The tunnel drains into Ndaka-ini dam after capturing from rivers Gikigie, Irati and Mathioya.
Ndaka-ini dam is owned by Athi water works and operated by the Nairobi City Water & Sewerage Company.
The dam’s construction started in the year 1988 when the Kenya Government compulsorily acquired approximately 1,200 acres of land to create space for the construction of the dam to supply portable water to the residents of Nairobi City and its environs.
Water from the dam is conveyed through a system of tunnels running from the dam, tapping Kiama River and Kimakia River and diverting the flows to Chania River at the Mwagu Outfall. Water is tapped from Chania River at Mwagu and conveyed via a tunnel to the Mataara chamber from where it’s conveyed by pipelines to Ngethu water production plant.
The Dam construction was undertaken under the Third Nairobi Water Supply Project between 1989 and 1994.
Construction of the dam was co-financed by the World Bank, ADB, European Investment Bank and the Kenya Government among others at a cost of Kshs. 2 Billion.
Nairobi Water Deficit
Ndaka-ini dam has a storage capacity of 70,000,000m3 at full storage level of 2,041 meters above sea level and a depth average of 65m.
The dam Produces 430,000 m3/day of water that is about 84% of total supply to Nairobi residents.
The 11.8km Northern Collector tunnel was financed by the French Development Agency at a cost of Sh8.2 billion.
Construction started in 2015.
The project consists of the tunnel, treatment plant and pipeline from the treatment plant to Gigiri reservoir in Nairobi.
Increase in population and rising demands in Nairobi necessitated the construction of the tunnel.
With a daily demand of 790 million litres of water, Nairobi gets 526 million litres a day from Ndakaini Dam, leaving a shortage of 264 million litres daily.
The Nairobi Water Masterplan shows that by 2035, the city will require 1.2 billion litres of water daily .
Shortages in Nairobi have also been blamed on cartels that have taken the City’s water supply hostage.
Governor Sakaja has warned the cartels that their days are numbered.
“To those who engage in illegal connections, steal now because your days are numbered and I’m coming for you. There is no escape,” he said.
