Access to safe water and sanitation remains one of Kenya’s most pressing development challenges. While significant progress has been made over the years, millions of Kenyans still lack access to reliable water and sanitation services, highlighting a critical gap in achieving universal access to these essential provisions.

National water coverage currently stands at approximately 74%, meaning that one in every four Kenyans still lacks reliable access to safe water services. The situation is even more concerning in the sanitation sector, where safely managed sanitation coverage is estimated at only 40.9%, implying that less than half of Kenya’s population has access to services that meet internationally accepted standards.

At the same time, Kenya is increasingly experiencing water stress. Current estimates place the country’s water stress level at 32%, up from 26.5% in 2016. This upward trend signals growing pressure on available water resources and highlights the urgent need for a more integrated and sustainable approach to water resources management and service delivery.

Governance and Institutional Framework

Kenya’s Constitution establishes a shared responsibility framework for the water sector. County governments are responsible for water service provision, while the national government retains responsibility for water resources management, policy formulation, and sector regulation.

To operationalize this constitutional mandate, the Water Act, 2016 requires county governments to establish Water Service Providers (WSPs), which are licensed and regulated by the Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB). The rationale behind this framework is to safeguard service delivery by creating professionally managed and independently governed entities capable of providing efficient water services, maintaining infrastructure, and generating sufficient revenue to support operations.

Currently, Kenya has 97 licensed Water Service Providers. However, sector performance remains uneven. Only about 20% of these utilities are considered financially sustainable and capable of meeting their operational costs without external support. This raises important questions about governance, operational efficiency, and long-term sustainability within the sector.

Financing Challenges

The water sector continues to face significant financing constraints. At the national level, budgetary allocations have been declining despite growing demand for water and sanitation services. The sector currently faces an estimated annual financing gap of approximately KES 82 billion.

At the county level, water investments often compete with other development priorities such as roads and transport infrastructure, which frequently receive a larger share of budget allocations. As a result, many critical water and sanitation projects remain underfunded, slowing progress toward universal access.

Without sustained investment, achieving universal access to water and sanitation services will remain difficult.

Operational Challenges Facing Water Service Providers

Discussions during the recent Energy for Water Access Workshop highlighted several key operational challenges directly affecting Water Service Providers across the country.

1. Non-Revenue Water (NRW)

One of the most significant challenges is Non-Revenue Water (NRW), which currently accounts for approximately 44% of water produced. This translates into an estimated annual loss of KES 28.85 billion. These severe baseline losses arise from a combination of structural and system deficiencies:

• Leakages in water distribution networks.
• Illegal connections and water theft.
• Metering inaccuracies across consumer connections.
• General operational inefficiencies in routing frameworks.

Reducing NRW remains one of the most effective ways of improving both utility service delivery and financial performance across the board.

2. High Energy Costs

The second major challenge is the high cost of energy. Energy expenses constitute a substantial portion of operational costs for most Water Service Providers. In response, many utilities have begun investing in renewable energy solutions, particularly solar-powered systems, to reduce electricity costs and improve operational efficiency.

Renewable Energy Adoption and Capacity Gaps

While renewable energy offers significant opportunities for reducing operating costs, the transition has exposed important capacity gaps within the sector. Many engineers and technical personnel currently possess limited experience in critical technical areas:

• Solar energy system design and component matching.
• Installation and infrastructure implementation workflows.
• Operations and maintenance protocols over long durations.
• Performance monitoring and digital telemetry tracking.

Workshop participants observed that even minor design errors, such as incorrectly sized pipes or unoptimized pumping systems, can significantly undermine project performance and increase overall operational costs.

Participants further emphasized that energy efficiency should be approached holistically. Investments in renewable energy must be accompanied by a suite of support frameworks:

• Robust monitoring systems to prevent diagnostic blind spots.
• Effective asset management registries and tracking.
• Lifecycle planning paradigms across equipment operational spans.
• Structured maintenance and component replacement strategies.

In many cases, utility managers overlook the long-term implications of replacement and maintenance costs, which can heavily compromise the sustainability of otherwise promising clean energy projects.

Building Capacity Across the Sector

To address these challenges, there is an urgent need for sustained capacity building across the sector. Technical professionals, utility managers, county governments, and sector institutions require enhanced, accredited skills across multiple functional domains:

Building these vital capabilities will explicitly strengthen institutional performance and improve long-term service delivery outcomes throughout Kenya.

Unlocking New Financing Opportunities

Equally important is the absolute need to mobilize additional financing. Blended finance approaches, which combine public funding, concessional finance, commercial capital, and private sector investment, offer significant potential for closing the sector’s current financing gap.

Financial institutions participating in the workshop highlighted another critical challenge: many utilities lack the capacity to develop bankable projects capable of attracting commercial financing. Strengthening project preparation capabilities and improving financial management practices will therefore be essential in unlocking new sources of capital for the sector.

Conclusion

Kenya’s water sector stands at a critical juncture. Rising water stress, persistent service delivery gaps, inadequate financing, and operational inefficiencies continue to hinder progress toward universal access to water and sanitation services.

Mechanisms exist to address these disparities. By strengthening governance, improving utility performance, investing in technical capacity, embracing renewable energy solutions, and leveraging innovative financing models, Kenya can accelerate progress toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 and ensuring that every citizen has access to safe, reliable, and sustainable water and sanitation services.

The challenge is substantial, but with coordinated action from national and county governments, regulators, utilities, development partners, financial institutions, and the private sector, it is a challenge that can be overcome.