Misunderstanding surrounding power bills payment formula between water companies and Coast Water Services Board (CWSB) has had residents in Kilifi County hit by water for months now.
Two water service providers operating in the county, Kilifi- Mariakani Water and Sewerage Company (KIMAWASCO) and Malindi Water and Sewerage Company (MAWASCO), are decrying of inadequate water supply by the Coast Water Services Board.
Huge power bills have been at loggerheads facing the sector making Baricho water pumping station get frequent disconnection from Kenya Power.
Hezekiah Mwaura, KIMAWASCO managing director said that the formula of paying the power bills was not the right one since the bills were supposed to be settled by CWSB and not the water companies.
Mwaura revealed that the production of water at the Baricho water pumping station was below capacity and that is why the County was facing frequent water shortages.
He said, “Coast Water Services Board produces only 85,000 cubic meters a day which is shared among MAWASCO, KIMAWASCO and Mombasa Water and Sewerage Company,” adding that Mombasa alone consumes at least 180,000 cubic meters a day, Kilifi 60,000 cubic meters with Malindi getting some of the supply.
According to Mwaura, the three water service providers consume about 300,000 cubic meters of water in a day, for the demand is so huge and that there was a need to increase production at the sources.
He added that for his office to deal with increasing complaints from residents, they will turn to ration as it is the only option for all residents to get little supply of the precious commodity.
The Managing Directors of MAWASCO Gerald Mwambire said that monthly power bills at Baricho stood at Sh30 million and that financial challenges had made it difficult for the water companies to offset the bill.
He added, “Kilifi alone has a clientele base of 21,000 with 300 new connections every month. This is an added challenge bearing in mind that supply scarcity is a still headache.”
Water tragedy in the county has had residents and hoteliers resort to borehole water and overspending to purchase the commodity from vendors.
Peter Njoroge, a hotelier in Kilifi said over the weekend that locals and guests were at health risk since the source of water received from vendors is questionable.
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