The Challenge of Providing Water and Sanitation Services in the Fringe Areas of Nairobi: the Case of Riruta

Abstract

Safe water and sanitary disposal of waste are central to good housing, living and health conditions (WB-UNDP 1993, 1998, UNCHS 1998, GOK-UNDP 1999). Together with other infrastructure services they enhance urban livelihood and are a lubricant to development to the extent that absence of the same curtails development. This study therefore seeks to examine the impacts of uncontrolled developments on water and sanitation services in Riruta with a view to suggesting approaches to make it a satisfactory urban development area. The study stepped down this goal to specific tasks or objectives namely: to examine the causes of uncontrolled developments in Riruta, to examine the impacts of uncontrolled developments on the water and sanitation standards, to evaluate the existing water and sanitation standards against public health standards and environment quality standards and finally to suggest approaches necessary to improve the water and sanitation standards in order to make it a satisfactory urban development area. The study formulated hypotheses that, uncontrolled developments reduces the water and sanitation standards in Riruta and further that existing water and sanitation standards reduces the standards of public health and environment quality. Primary and secondary data were obtained to help fulfill the objectives of the study. Secondary data was obtained from books, journals, working papers of Ministry of Water Development, World Bank and United Nations Environment Program and unpublished theses from graduate students of the University of Nairobi. Other secondary data was obtained from the Internet. This data introduced the researcher to the issues of urbanization, water and sanitation service worldwide. Primary data was obtained by undertaking a field study of Riruta from which a sample of ninety households was taken. Interviews with key persons with information regarding the study topic such as Nairobi City Council officers were undertaken. The data collected was later cleaned and organized into qualitative and quantitative data to enable ease of analysis. Descriptive statistics such as the mode, mean and frequency distributions were then computed and presented in charts and graphs. The relationships between variables under study were tested using chi-square analysis. The study found that the pressure of urbanization had pushed low and middle income earners to Riruta in search of cheap housing. This has enhanced the rate of subdivisions to an average 10 subdivisions in a month. The study also found a dichotomy of planned settlements juxtaposed against unplanned!uncontrolled settlements. This pattern of water and sanitation standards hence the standards of public health and environment quality followed the pattern of settlements. In the planned! controlled settlements there was no incidence of water and sanitation related diseases while these were rampant in the uncontrolled areas. Pollution of the environment was also intense in the uncontrolled settlements. The study recommends a complete overhaul of the existing water and sanitation services to enable reticulation of these services. Policy review to speed up privatization of such services is necessary, since the water and sanitation department of the NCC has failed to provide them adequately. A reorganization of the settlements and enforcement of development control regulations is also recommended in order to address the core of the problem. To this end review of land use policy and the institutional and legal frameworks is necessary. Further research is recommended in the areas of water quality and pollution.