Kenya/water

Access to safe and sufficient drinking water, a human right

According to criteria used by the UN, Kenya is technically a “water scarce” country as the amount of water available annually per person is roughly 600 cubic meters, which is well below the UN threshold of 1,000 cubic meters. Only 60 percent of the 54 million Kenyans have access to safe drinking water, hence, 40 percent of the population does not have access to safe water within 1 km distance or max 30 min. walk of their dwelling. In addition, Kenya’s population is due to exceed 90 million by 2050 and its economy is set to quadruple in size. By then, some predict the amount of water available per person could have halved.

The access to safe and sufficient drinking water is a human right (UN resolution 64/292). Lack of access to safe and sufficient drinking water always effects the poorest of the poor to the largest extend, it also a significant barrier for their development both in terms of health, economy, gender equality, education and overall livelihood security. The effects of climate change increases all of the above.

In accordance with Article 42 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010: “Every person has the right to a clean and healthy environment”, while Article43 (d) of the Constitution guarantees the: “Right to clean and safe water in adequate quantities to every person.”

Climate change is exacerbating the challenges of providing access to safe water. After several years of drought, Kenya recently experienced heavy rains and flash floods. With temperatures rising, these extremes will occur more often. In addition, much of the water that is available ends up polluted or wasted. About 45 percent of Kenya’s water supply is unaccounted for as non-revenue water.

Sustainable groundwater management can secure Kenya’s future development

At the same time, only about 15 percent of Kenya’s water resources are easily accessible, and the majority of that is surface water, whereas the groundwater resource is only used as the primary water resource in some counties such as Turkana that is 100% depending on groundwater.

Hence, if Kenya shall be able to continue its growth and provide water for both growing industries and a growing population towards 2050 it is essential that not only the utilisation of surface water becomes more sustainable, but that the groundwater resource itself is developed and protected in the counties of Kenya.

The total potential groundwater resource (storage) in Kenya is estimated to be 619 million m³. The total groundwater abstraction rate in 2012 was estimated at 7.21 million m³/year, and the total safe abstraction rate (annually recharged) in Kenya is estimated to be 193 million m³/year. Some aquifers are identified as being over-abstracted with associated problems of water level decline and sometimes water quality deterioration, in particular the Nairobi volcanic aquifer. The groundwater recharge is estimated to be about 8% to 9% of the total available water. Although there are different estimated groundwater recharge levels reported, there is a substantial opportunity to abstract substantial groundwater for enhancing water supply provision. The projected demands for 2030 and for 2050 are about 80% of the available (ground)water.

According to the Water Resource Authority’s (WRA) groundwater database there are currently about 10,000 registered boreholes, but it is estimated that 45,000 boreholes exist nation-wide. Before the water sector reform in 2007 there were an estimated number of 25,000 boreholes in Kenya.

Apart from the fact that a lot of the (unsustainable) water in these app. 35.000 unregistered boreholes is non-revenue water, it also indicates that the current groundwater resources are not adequately mapped which increases the risk of pollution and of depletion caused by occasioned over-exploitation of groundwater for agriculture, industries, domestic use, etc. Furthermore, increasing climate change risks with more frequent and erratic rainfall and prolonged drought are compromising natural recharge of the aquifers.

Legal framework and challenges

The Kenyan authorities are very well aware of the above outlined challenges, and there is currently a shift taking place in the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation (MoWSI) to focus more om the groundwater resource. At the same time a comprehensive institutional framework is already in place in Kenya to encounter the outlined challenges. This includes amongst others; the 2010 Constitution of Kenya, 2016 Water Act, the National Water Policy, National Water and Sanitation Strategy (NWSS) 2020-2025, the Climate Change Act (2016) and the 2023 National Water and Sanitation Investment Plan for 2022 – 2030 (NAWASIP).

However, policies for county government compliance with the Water Act 2016 are ineffective due to financial constraints, capacity issues, weak governance, inadequate infrastructure, and poor coordination with national authorities. Counties struggle with funding, technical expertise, and accountability, hindering effective water service delivery and resource management. To improve compliance, there is a need for increased funding, capacity building, strengthened governance, infrastructure development, and better coordination mechanisms incl. improved data, monitoring and data management. Addressing these challenges can enhance the effectiveness of the Water Act 2016, leading to sustainable water management and improved service delivery at the county level.

Need for capacity building

There is a strong need for capacity building in sustainable groundwater management in Kenya especially at a local/county level, as groundwater is simply essential for the future social and economic development of the country.

Therefore, the overall objective of this SSC projects is to: “Enhance the groundwater quality and quantity in Kenya with focus on securing a safe and sustainable groundwater-based drinking water resource for current and future generations.”

• To achieve the long-trem overall objective the focus is three-fold:
• Establish a system for groundwater mapping and assessment with efficient data techniques
• Improve climate resilient ecosystem services of 1-3 sub-catchment areas to enhance water supply quality and quantity from groundwater by application of nature-based solutions (NbS) and building capacity on pollution risk mapping
• Improve the awareness of Danish technical and regulative sustainable, groundwater strongholds and integrate them into both academic institutions and public authorities in Kenya

Given the diverse climate, geography and geology of Kenya the project has chosen to work in three sub-catchments to include varied geographical areas for triangulation so the final products are most likely to be adaptable to all of Kenya; one arid area, one agriculture/water tower area, and one urban area.

Denmark is a world-leader in groundwater management, and has developed state-of the art technologies (such as t-TEM and s-TEM), databases and monitoring systems that will support Kenya in its groundwater endeavor ensuring its long-term sustainability.