Water Act
Water crisis is common throughout the globe. African societies have long known that water is God-given and cannot be denied to anyone. Water sources are respected, protected and in many cases were sites of worship. Today, shared and equitable water management is more than achieving sustainable level of secure water supplies to prevent conflict among water users. It is a driver of regional cooperation supporting economic growth, social well-being and political stability.
The Kenya Water Act was passed in Parliament in July 2002. It established the decentralisation of water resources into 6 large catchments administered under the Water Management Authority (WRMA). Resources management is separated from water supply services but both are overviewed by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation.
The reform opened the way for private water supply companies providing new employment opportunities.The main challenges of developing integrated water management are due to the lack of infrastructure, lack of human capacity, to the decreasing the amount of water that will be available for each person in the near future due to rapid population growth, to deteriorating water quality in the rivers and in the lake, to high demands for enhancing water supply services.
Stakeholders’ role is enhanced by the constitution of Water Resources Users’ Associations, through which local communities can team up to find optimised solutions to achieve enhanced and equitable water supply and environmental sustainability. By actively participating as WRUA members, local residents can contribute to optimise rational water use and prevent the degradation and loss of water resources. The Lake Naivasha basin is divided into 12 Water Resource User Associations (WRUAs) which have begun to work in partnership with the Water Resource Management Agency (WRMA) to regulate water abstraction from lake, rivers and groundwater.
In the Lake Naivasha Basin, 12 WRUAs were formed as well as an “Umbrella WRUA” representing the whole Basin
