Lake Nakuru, Kenya

Water services in Nakuru

Kiosks constructed throughout the community in Nakuru (Kenya) ensure that water is provided to all residents, especially those in low-income, under-serviced areas.

Water supply in Nakuru falls short of demand, resulting in many low-income residents using what is considered less than sanitary water. With the nearest river 27 kilometres away, Nakuru relies on boreholes for half of its meager water supply, which currently falls 15,000-20,000 cubic metres short of daily demand. In the absence of a local supply, the urban poor must retrieve water from long distances or purchase it at considerable expense from local vendors.

To address these concerns, Nakuru Municipal Council undertook a Local Agenda 21 planning process, with the local community and community-based organizations (CBOs). The council and the CBOs then together developed these water kiosks to supply safe, clean, and inexpensive water, focusing first on low-income, under-serviced areas. The goal was that no resident would have to walk more than a kilometer to find water.

Each kiosk is built of stone, connected to the municipal water main, secured at night, and large enough to house the tap and an attendant. As a commitment to its ongoing relationship with the community, the council turned over almost all kiosk management to a community organization, creating well-paying, long-term employment for several individuals, as well as building the capacity of the group to take on similar challenges in the future.

ICLEI’s Local Agenda 21 (LA21) Campaign promotes a participatory, long-term, strategic planning process that supports local governance by identifying local sustainability priorities and mobilizing local governments and their citizens to implement long-term action plans that address these sustainable priorities. Using the LA21 approach of participatory sustainable development planning, ICLEI aims to assist local authorities to move beyond general sustainable development planning and to apply this approach in tackling areas of priority concern. For more information, please visit www.iclei.org/la21.

Nakuru is one of 38 Members in Africa of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. For more information on ICLEI and its activities in Africa, please visit www.iclei.org/africa.

Source: “Providing water services for the poor in Nakuru, Kenya”, Cities Without Slums: Cities Alliance 2006 Annual Report.