A group of unscrupulous individuals are reported to have sunk 4000 boreholes in Nairobi without permission from the city's relevant supervisory agency.
According to the Water Resources Management Authority, only 2000 boreholes out of 6000 are in their system.
Out of the estimated known boreholes in the county, two-thirds do not have meters and four in five users have not been paying for water within the city.
“We are exploiting too much water from the ground in Nairobi. This uncontrolled exploitation threatens our very existence,” said Benson Mwaniki, the authority’s head of technical services.
“These people are using water at will because they are not in our system. We cannot control them. It is a sad state of affairs,” he added.
Mwaniki however assured residents that the agency was going to conduct research to find out how much water Nairobi has in its aquifers, after which the agency will undertake a crackdown on individuals conducting the illegal act.
Water CS Eugene Wamalwa has expressed his confidence that the agency will address the matter with the seriousness it deserves to save the residents.