Nairobi Loses Sh4.8bn in Unbilled Water Use Wednesday April 06 2022 Nairobis water problems have become so prevalent that the majority of residents now take it for granted that their taps will be dry and that they will be buying the precious commodity from predatory bowser operators. The over four million residents of the capital have had to put up with water rationing since April 2017, with some estates going without water for weeks at a time, if not months. Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company Limited (Nairobi Water) can supply 525,000 cubic metres daily to the residents against a demand of 850,000 cubic metres, leaving a deficit of 325,000 cubic metres. But even as the firm grapples with the growing supply deficit, it faces crippling revenue loss with half of the water flowing through its pipeline going unbilled. A report by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu for the financial year ended June 30, 2020, shows the company produced 176.04 million cubic metres of water out of which only 86.35 million cubic metres were billed to customers. The balance of 89.69 million cubic metres or 51 percent of the total volume produced represents nonrevenue water. This was double the allowable loss of 25 percent, under Water Service Regulatory Board guidelines for non-renewable water. The significant level of non-renewable water is an indication of inefficiency and a lack of effectiveness in the use of public resources and, may negatively impact the companys profitability and its long-term sustainability, said Ms Gathungu. Despite efforts to cut water losses, the city has always struggled to meet the threshold set by the regulator, pointing to longstanding and deep-rooted malpractices, as well as inefficiencies at the utility. Before the big jump in 2020, the non-revenue water had fluctuated between 34 and 42 percent from 2014 to 2019. The losses rose in 2020 despite a decrease in the production of 3.06 million cubic metres from the 180.1 million cubic metres produced in the year to June 2019. This is attributed to the closure of the Ngethu treatment plant in May 2020 for some days due to high turbidity, and the washing away of the Sasumua transmission line in the Aberdare Forest during the April 2020 long rains, said Nairobi Water managing director Nahashon Muguna. In monetary terms, the urban utility firm lost a staggering Sh4.75 billion in revenue from unbilled water due to water theft, faulty metres and illegal connections. Mr Muguna admitted to the incidents of unaccounted for water but says the firm is working to put in place measures to reduce the losses. The main mitigation measure the firm is pursuing is the disconnection and/or regularisation of all illegal connections across the city. Further, he argued that the unaccounted-for-water is also a result of leakages in connection pipes, overflows at storage facilities, metering inaccuracies and an inefficient billing system. As a remedy, Mr Muguna said, the firm would install accurate flow meters to replace all mechanical meters for high consumers, replace faulty meters, disconnect or regularise illegal connections and ensure timely repair of leakages and pipe bursts. In addition, the firm is carrying out a census, tagging and geo-referencing of all meters to improve reading and billing. In 2019, City Hall netted more than Sh16 million in penalties and court fines for illegal water connections in the capital after the county government launched a major crackdown on cartels perpetuating the vice. Penalties for individuals arrested over illegal water connections amounted to Sh12.9 million while Sh3.19 million was in court fines. City Hall said the operation saw 1,834 illegal water connections unearthed, leading to the arrest and prosecution of 232 people, with a further 893 illegal connections regularised. Most of the illegal connections are found in lower-income areas such as Githurai, Zimmerman, Kasarani, Mwiki, Kiamaiko, Huruma, Kariobangi, Mathare North, and Kayole as well as Tassia, Baba Dogo, Embakasi, Kware ward and Imara Daima. You have been appointed as a Business Research Consultant by the Nairobi City County Government with a brief to conduct research to inform the management on the challenges facing the Nairobi Water Company in view of the water losses. In specific, the reasons leading to the illegal connections and the perception of Nairobians towards the services offered by the water company. Discuss: a) The mixed methods research design that you will adopt for the particular study with justification (10 Marks) b) The population of the study (4 Marks) c) The sampling design for your study addressing: i. The sampling frame and justification of choice (2 Marks) ii. The most appropriate and justified sampling technique (6 Marks) d) In the event you choose to use a questionnaire to collect data to inform Nairobi City County Government on strategies to address the challenges, develop a tool containing: i. Three closed ended questions in your tool (3Marks) ii. Three open ended questions in your tool (3 Marks) iii. Four likert scale questions (6 Marks) iv. Four semantic differential questions (6 Marks)