Dry weather conditions here to stay

On Wednesday, Mr Muhindi warned that ailments associated with dry weather conditions such as coughs were likely to increase. He also said that cases of malnutrition were expected to shoot up.

Following poor rain fall during the October-December season, farmers in most parts of the country had very little or no harvests, with the Central and Southeastern parts of the country such as Ukambani being some of the hardest hit.

In a related development, the minister for Water Development, Mrs Charity Ngilu warned Nairobi residents to brace themselves for water rationing following a drastic drop in supplies from Sasumua and Ndaka-ini dams that feed city taps.

The minister said that the city requires 750 million cubic litres of water daily, and yet supply had dwindled to 460 million cubic litres.

“Currently, Nairobi’s water sources — Ndaka-ini, Sasamua, Ruiru dams and Kikuyu springs — can only meet 60 per cent of demand.

“Technically, if the water supply cannot meet 50 per cent of the demand, it’s likely to fuel discontent and conflict among consumers,” said the minister.

Water aquifers

The ministry plans to drill 100 boreholes in various water aquifers within a 100-kilometre radius of the city centre to alleviate the situation, Mrs Ngilu said.

“In a water-stressed situation like this, per capita water demand is decreasing to about 15 litres per person per day,” she said.

“With these measures in place, 1.2 million people will have access to clean water, representing 30 per cent of Nairobi’s population,” the minister said.