Why the Coastal Region Needs One Operating Logic for Its Bulk-Water Assets

Last Updated 1 day ago by Kenya Engineer

The national government and Mombasa County are considering a new collaborative framework for managing the bulk-water infrastructure serving Kenya’s coastal region, reopening a long-running question: how should water assets located across several counties be operated when their principal consumers are concentrated elsewhere?

The Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation says discussions have covered an alternative legal framework for managing assets including the Baricho Water Supply System, Marere works and the Mwache Dam project. The consultations have involved the ministry, Mombasa County, the Water Services Regulatory Board, Coast Water Works Development Agency and Mombasa Water.

The proposal has not yet been adopted, and its institutional form remains unclear. Nevertheless, the discussion is timely because the Coast’s water challenge is no longer simply about finding another source. It is increasingly about integrating sources, transmission systems, utilities and financial responsibilities into one functioning service chain.

A region supplied across county boundaries

Mombasa has limited freshwater resources of its own and depends heavily on water transported from neighbouring counties.

Baricho draws groundwater from the aquifer associated with the Sabaki River in Kilifi County and pumps it over a long-distance transmission system toward Kilifi, Malindi and Mombasa. The system has historically been rated at approximately 90,000 to 110,000 cubic metres per day, depending on the number of operational boreholes and the condition of pumping and transmission infrastructure.

Marere Springs and Tiwi boreholes are located in Kwale, while Mzima Springs supplies water through a pipeline stretching from the Tsavo area in Taita Taveta. Earlier figures from Coast Water Works Development Agency placed the combined design output of Baricho, Marere, Mzima and Tiwi at approximately 170,000 cubic metres per day.

Actual water reaching consumers can be considerably lower because of source limitations, pumping interruptions, transmission losses, upstream allocations, ageing infrastructure and losses within county distribution networks.

Recent reporting citing the Water Cabinet Secretary placed the Coast’s combined demand at approximately 512,000 cubic metres per day against supply of about 185,000 cubic metres, leaving a deficit of around 327,000 cubic metres.

That gap explains the significance of Mwache. The dam is designed to add about 186,000 cubic metres of water daily for domestic and industrial use in Mombasa and Kwale. Yet that water will still require treatment, transmission, storage, distribution and billing. A reservoir does not automatically translate into water at the consumer’s tap.

Bulk and retail water are technically inseparable

Kenya’s devolved water structure distinguishes between the development of national public water works and the delivery of services through county-owned utilities. In practice, however, bulk and retail systems remain hydraulically connected.

A bulk supplier may deliver water to a county boundary or reservoir, but the final value of that water depends on the condition of the downstream network. If a county utility has leaking pipes, inaccurate meters, illegal connections or insufficient storage, increasing bulk supply may increase losses without proportionately improving service.

Mombasa has previously reported non-revenue water of around 60 per cent, attributed to leaks, illegal connections, meter problems and weak enforcement. That means a substantial portion of treated water may be lost physically or delivered without generating revenue.

Reducing such losses is equivalent to developing an additional source—but often at a lower cost. Recovering even 20,000 cubic metres per day through pressure management, leak repair and metering would provide water equivalent to a considerable production project.

The proposed framework needs an engineering centre

Whatever institutional model is eventually adopted should have a strong technical operating function. Coastal bulk-water assets should be managed as a network, with a common hydraulic and operational picture rather than as separate projects.

A central operations platform could monitor abstraction, reservoir levels, pump performance, flow, pressure, energy consumption and water quality at critical points. Bulk meters at every transfer and county off-take would create a credible water balance, showing what was produced, what each utility received and where unexplained losses occurred.

Supervisory control and data-acquisition systems could help operators detect falling pressure, pump failures, reservoir depletion and unusual flows. However, digital monitoring should be introduced alongside the replacement of unreliable instruments and rehabilitation of weak pipeline sections.

Data quality is fundamental. A sophisticated dashboard built on uncalibrated meters will merely display inaccurate information more attractively.

Energy is a central cost, especially at Baricho

Baricho depends on boreholes and high-lift pumping, making electricity one of its major operational costs. Historical operating information has shown consumption running into millions of electricity units each month.

Energy audits should therefore form part of the management reform. Pumps need to be assessed against their actual operating curves, because worn or incorrectly selected pumps may consume substantially more power for every cubic metre delivered.

Variable-speed drives, power-factor correction, improved pump scheduling and renewable-energy supplementation could reduce costs, but each intervention requires a system-level study. Installing solar panels without understanding pumping profiles, storage capacity and peak demand may deliver less value than expected.

The proposed Sabaki Water Project points toward one possible integrated model. Its published plans include new abstraction from the Baricho aquifer, a 100-kilometre transmission pipeline, expanded distribution, wastewater treatment and a 12 MW solar installation intended to offset part of the project’s energy demand.

Asset condition must be visible

The Coast’s water infrastructure includes pipelines and systems that have operated for decades. Marere dates to the early twentieth century, while the Mzima system has served the region since the 1950s.

A collaborative management body should begin with a comprehensive asset register covering age, material, diameter, design capacity, current output, breakdown history and remaining useful life. Critical assets should be ranked according to the consequences of failure.

The region also needs redundancy. When one pipeline or pumping station fails, operators should know whether another source or storage facility can temporarily support the affected area. Interconnections, emergency storage and carefully designed isolation valves can prevent a local fault from becoming a regional outage.

Governance must answer practical questions

A new legal structure will only help if it makes operational responsibility clearer.

Who pays for electricity at the source? Who finances replacement of a transmission pipeline crossing several counties? How are bulk tariffs determined? Which institution bears losses before the county off-take meter? How are water allocations adjusted during drought or equipment failure? Who approves emergency repairs?

These questions are not administrative details. They determine whether pumps run, contractors are paid and damaged pipelines are restored quickly.

The proposed framework also needs transparent performance indicators. These should include bulk-water availability, energy consumed per cubic metre, pipeline failure frequency, water-quality compliance, response time, volume delivered to each utility and the difference between bulk supply and billed consumption.

Mwache will significantly expand the Coast’s water infrastructure, but the project should be understood as one component in a larger system. Without stronger distribution networks, reliable measurement and a financially workable operating model, the region could possess more infrastructure while continuing to experience shortages.

The next phase of coastal water security must therefore be built around both concrete and coordination: new dams and pipelines, certainly, but also accurate data, preventive maintenance and institutions capable of operating the assets as one interconnected network.