Court orders Karen boreholes survey, and report on allowable sinking ratio in Nairobi

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The Environment Court in Nairobi has ordered Water Resources Authority (WRA) to conduct a ground survey of all boreholes sunk at Karen and provide an aquifer allocation plan for Nairobi in a row over excess water drilling.

Justice Ann Omollo said that there was a legitimate concern raised by Karen-Langata District Association residents that the underground waters would soon dry up over the uncontrolled sinking of boreholes for water vending.

She observed that WRA could not tell the impact of borehole sinking within Nairobi. Instead, she said, the agency shifted the burden to the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC).

“In a situation where the 2nd respondent was not in a position to determine the impact of this borehole or any borehole within the Nairobi area on the Aquifer, one would expect that they would apply the precautionary principle by limiting the usage until the Nairobi Water Aquifer Allocation Plan is completed,” said Justice Omollo.

The case was filed by the association’s chair, Samora Sikalieh, against WRA, Fredrick Chege, and the Water Resources Regulatory Board.

He told the court that Karen residents were a worried lot as a consequence of so many boreholes in the area per square kilometre.

Sikalieh stated that a decade ago, boreholes were sunk to depths of between 100 and 200 meters. However, he added that the majority had dried up, and it is now common that one has to dig at least 400 metres to access water.

He expressed fears that the aquifers were being depleted at an alarming rate as the agency was allowing sinking boreholes for commercial purposes, and not private use.

 The court heard that residents had objected to issuing Chege a greenlight to sink a borehole, which was given as a permit for domestic water use. This was June 29, 2019.

 Sikalieh said that immediately after obtaining the permit, Chege started selling water on a commercial basis.

He claimed that the amount sold exceeded 20 cubic metres per day by over 10.

The chairman further said that in 2021, they complained about it, and WRA threatened to cap the borehole, then went quiet.

He argued that for the five years that Chege was allowed to operate, he would be entitled to a maximum 36,500m3 of water. Nevertheless, according to him, there was no supervision, which affected the residents around the area.

WRA, Chege and the board separately opposed the case. However, Chege died along the way.

 Chege had told the court that a hydrogeological investigation on his parcel of land indicated that the borehole was viable and would abstract water only from the deepest aquifers within the upper Athi series with no foreseen interference with existing boreholes.

He stated that the pumping test also showed a discharge rate of 16 cubic metres per hour. According to him, the law allowed him to pump 60 per cent of the total yield, which was 230.4 cubic metres a day.

He said that WRA issued him a permit to use 95 cubic metres a day.

WRA admitted giving Chege a permit. It stated that its officers visited Chege and cautioned him against selling water.

The agency said that the Nairobi aquifer covers around 5816 square kilometres, and Kajiado, Machakos, Kiambu, Murang’a and Nyandarua counties can support roundwater to meet domestic and public water supply, irrigation, and industrial needs in the Nairobi Metropolitan and its environs.

It claimed that it is impossible to carry out a hydrogeological assessment for a specific borehole to determine its impact on the aquifer.

According to WRA, what could be assessed is the consumption attributed to one borehole and not the impact that the borehole has on the entire Nairobi aquifer.

It stated that it was in the process of developing an allocation plan. The board, on its end, argued that there was no complaint against it.