RWSN Country Information

Over the past decade, the Republic of Kenya in East Africa has made significant political and economic reforms that have contributed to sustained economic growth, social development, and political stability gains. Despite this progress, however, access to piped water remains low, reaching only 33 percent of the population.

Additionally, as a water-scarce country, with one of the lowest freshwater replenishment rates in the world and approximately 80 percent of land mass classified as arid and semi-arid, Kenya has uneven availability of water in different parts of the country, as well as variable rainfall that leads to frequent droughts and flooding.

The enactment of the Water Act 2002 established water sector reforms whose purpose was to minimize duplication of roles among the various institutions and enhance efficiency. Subsequently, Kenya passed a new constitution in 2010, which included the devolution of water service provision mandates from national agencies to county governments. Responsibilities for the management and regulation of water resources remained at the national level, and the Ministry of Water, Sanitation, and Irrigation (MoWSI) remained the sector lead with respect to legislation, policy, and strategy.

At the county level, the Water Works Development Authority is responsible for the development, maintenance, and management of national public waterworks and for the provision of technical services and capacity building to county governments and WSPs within the area of their jurisdiction. WSPs are responsible for water service provision within their licensed area.

Since 2000, the Kenyan government and development partners have significantly increased overall spending on water. Kenya’s National Water Master Plan 2030, which was launched in 2014, estimated that $14 billion in investment in the water supply was needed over the next 15 years.To increase progress toward the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal for water, a sharp increase in the mobilization of new resources will be required.

This document is produced by USAID’s REAL-Water activity.

This report, developed by USAID’s REAL-Water initiative, synthesizes a desk review of emerging trends in rural water services delivery, with a focus on 12 countries (Ghana, India, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Peru, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, the Philippines, Uganda, and Zambia), drawn from the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) 2021 list of high-priority, priority, and strategically aligned countries. It also maps water service delivery across an array of categories (including institutional and legal arrangements, regulation, monitoring, technical capacities, and financial capacities) and reports on an e-survey conducted among 400 respondents in the rural water supply sector.

With the backdrop of the Reform scenario and the passage of the Water Act of 2002, Kenya was moving steadily towards devolving and privatization of the responsibility of operation and management of water supply systems away from government institutions. However, community management of water sources was not new in Kenya and that such systems have existed for a long time, some traditional, some new, some good and some not so.

The purpose of this compilation was to provide a factual basis for formulation of a concept document for re-establishing community-based management in rural water systems in Kenya with the objective of improving sustainability of drinking water sources in the context of “modern” water supply systems and the reforms of the sector.

Presentations at the World Water Forum Session 2A4/Présentations au Forum mondial de l'eau Session 2A4

1. "Professionaliser les services d’eau potable en milieu rural" - Julia Boulenouar, Aquaconsult / Sean Furey, Skat Foundation

2. "Réforme du mode de gestion des ouvrages hydrauliques ruraux par les communautés villageoises au Sénégal" Mamadou DIAGNE, Administrateur Sahel Conse, Expert en Habitat et Développement Urbain, Adama NDIANOR, Expert-hydrologue, Opérateur STEFI

3. L’externalisation de la gestion de l’AEP en milieu rural au secteur privé - L’expérience de l’ONEE - MAROC, Mr Bahaeddine AKDI, Chef de la Division GESTION à la Direction Généralisation de l’accès à l’Eau potable, ONEE - MAROC

4. MISE EN OEUVRE D’UN PARTENARIAT PUBLIC-PRIVÉ (PPP) POUR LA GESTION DU SERVICE D’EAU POTABLE A EJEDA - MADAGASCAR - Amina DAHANE, Responsable des opérations/Head of operations, ONG HAMAP-Humanitaire

5. Results-based contracts to sustain and scale professional rural services - Dr Alex Money, Uptime Catalyst Facility

6. Water Quality Testing Assurance Fund - short film, Caroline Delaire, Aquaya Institute/REAL-Water

The 'Stop the Rot' initiative documents the scale and extent of rapid handpump corrosion and the use of poor-quality handpump components in sub-Saharan Africa and tries to bring about actions to address these problems. These two interlinked issues contribute to poor handpump performance, rapid handpump failure and poor water quality, all of which can ultimately lead to abandonment of the handpump sources, thus forcing users to return to contaminated or distant water supplies.

The first report estimates the reliance on handpumps in sub-Saharan Africa, reviews the literature on handpump functionality and performance, and synthesises information on handpump technical quality from various studies and assessments.

The second report examines handpump corrosion in detail, with an overview of what is known and what has been done to address the issue in specific SSA countries and by select organisations.

The third report reflects on the existing guidance on handpump quality assurance, collates examples of poor-quality components, and examines handpump supply chains through a case study of Zambia.