The Government of Kenya on Friday announced new plans to increase water and sewer prices for Nairobi residents living within the areas of Ruiru and Juja following a need for inflation adjustment in the charges levied.
In a Gazette notice, the Water Service Regulatory Board acting Chief Executive Officer(CEO) Richard Cheruiyot announced that the new tariffs for the charges would come into effect following extensive consultative efforts between the government and the area residents living in Juja and Ruiru.
Residents will now be charged Ksh104 per unit for those living in commercial and residential areas while public institutions such as schools and colleges will pay Ksh110 per cubic meter of water they use.
Government institutions and industries will be levied an amount of Ksh130 per cubic meter which will range from 1 to 50 cubic meters. Bulk water sellers will be charged Ksh91 per cubic meter as water vending kiosks will be attracting a monthly levy of Ksh110 per cubic meter of water.
The Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company treatment facility.
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NCWSC
For sewerage charges, the Water Agency announced that consumers with a water connection will have to pay 75% of the water volumes that they will have consumed in a month’s period.
Those with disconnected water accounts who wish to use the sewer services will be charged based on the average sewerage charges for the last three months before their disconnection.
Customers with no water connection and use sewerage services will have to part with Ksh300 per month for the domestic consumers while those in other categories such as those with their own water sources such as boreholes will have to pay 75 per cent of their water consumption.
Residents who will be seeking new water connection services will have to part with Ksh2,500 as those with retail shops that consume an average of less than 10 cubic meters of water will have to pay Ksh3,000 to be connected to the supply grid as per the new inflation adjustments.
Those operating retail shops with more than 10 cubic meters of consumption will pay Ksh3,500 as schools and other institutions with more than 200 cubic meters of consumption will have to pay Ksh20,000 to access connections.
Property developers working with minor construction sites with more than 200 cubic meters will have to pay Ksh15,000 and those working with major construction sites with more than 300 cubic meters consumption needs will have to pay Ksh50,000 to be connected to the water supply.
Investors operating light industries with less than 200 cubic meters will part with Ksh30,000 as those with medium industries will pay Ksh50,000 for water volumes amounting to between 200 to 300 cubic meters.
Those with heavy industries that require more than 300 cubic meters will pay Ksh100,000 to be connected to the supply grid. Residents operating water vending kiosks will pay the agency Ksh ,000 to be connected.
The CEO further added that the increase in the water and sewer prices would enable the government to offer improved service delivery, operate sustainably, and protect consumer interests within the areas.
The residents have been given a one-month notice from when the new water tariff adjustments will come into effect for the next four financial years. The tariffs will run for the financial years 2024/2025, 2025/2026, 2026/2027 and 2027/2028.
A photo of a woman washing hands from a water tap on July 7,2022.
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Kenyans.co.ke
