DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2018.v06i04.025

Pages: 957-961

Water is vital for sustainable development and has unlimited importance for human survival, socio-economic stability and environmental sustainability. Access to water is a basic human right and water equity requires that each person shares access and entitlements to water, and benefits from water use. As competition for water increases, so does the risk that water resources will be captured by the powerful, with the marginalized people losing out. The city of Nairobi has a population of more than 6 million and requires 700 million litres of water every day; however, it is only able to supply 400 million litres. Only 22 % of informal settlement households have access to direct water connection and consume significantly less than the wealthy minority. The use and access to water is thus linked to class and wealth. The current drought situation has brought attention to the inadequate water resources in face of climate change and the unequal way in which it impacts on the citizens in Nairobi. Since January 2017, there has been water rationing after water levels at the Sasamua dam, which supplies 80 % of domestic water to city residents dropped to its lowest since 2011.