Water supply and treatment systems in developing countries such as Kenya continue to face infrastructural and resource deficits, threatening urban water security and the general health and well-being of residents in urban areas, country’s leading water and energy solutions company Davis & Shirtliff said on Monday.
According to the company, the implementation and enforcement of Urban Water Management (UWM) policies is paramount if water security is to improve as well restoring the health of waterways and wetlands in urban areas.
Davis & Shirtliff’s Chief Executive Officer, David Gatende, pointed out that strict implementation of UWM policies and strategies will result in urban centres that are resilient, livable, productive and sustainable.
“UWM plans are key enabling factors in ensuring that cities remain the generators of wealth and employment, incubators of innovation and creativity and provide the best opportunities to improve livelihoods while sustainably maintaining an ecological balance,” he told the African Press Agency in Nairobi.
This comes against the backdrop of increased urbanization in different parts of the country that has led to increased pressure on limited resources, a situation that is exacerbated by infrastructure that cannot support the demand.
Gatende attributed the current challenges being faced in the urban water management sector to this phenomenon adding that that it is estimated that by 2027 the urban population will reach 31.7 million (56 percent) in Kenya and currently, only one-third of urban residents have access to basic water and sanitation services.
He explained that though increased urbanization comes with many challenges; it also presents a wealth of opportunities in industrialization, wealth generation, wastewater treatment and recycling.
“In Nairobi for example, some of the greatest challenges experienced both by residents within the city and industrial enterprises, is the unavailability and inaccessibility to clean water, intermittent flooding during the rainy seasons, seasonal cholera breakouts and poor sanitation services,” he observed.
“A strategy for urban water management therefore takes into account the projected population growth for the next century and will not only be beneficial but critical towards the growth and economic development of Nairobi,” Gatende added.
Gatende, however, cautioned that UWM will only be successful in the country if Kenya greatly develops its urban water infrastructure and trains staff working in water supply systems, on top of implementing the policies, to sustainably support the strategy.
JK/abj/APA