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Kenya's water service providers are losing billions of shillings in potential revenue every year after nearly half of the country's treated water fails to reach paying customers, piling financial pressure on utilities and threatening efforts to expand access to clean and reliable water.
The latest Impact 18 Report shows that the country's Non-Revenue Water (NRW) has risen to 48 per cent, meaning almost one in every two litres of the 504 million cubic metres of treated water produced annually generates no income. The losses are linked to leaking pipelines, illegal connections, faulty meters, inaccurate billing and other operational inefficiencies.
The findings have raised concerns over the financial sustainability of water service providers, many of which are grappling with ageing infrastructure, rising operating costs and growing demand for water services.
Speaking at the opening of the three-day Non-Revenue Water Management Conference in Naivasha, Water Cabinet Secretary Eric Mugaa said Kenya can no longer afford to lose nearly half of its treated water while millions of households continue to experience unreliable supply.
