variety of things – coconuts, vegetables,….. or yellow jerrycans for water. The latter are the only source of water for a good percentage of the population, where mains water is a luxury to dream of. Mind you, even when you’re on mains water, there’s no guarantee you’ll actually find anything coming out of the tap! Another common sight are water bowsers, lorries with a container of water on the back, for filling people’s water tanks (again, when there’s nothing coming through the mains). Nairobi has three dams, but the lack of rains over the last two years has meant that water levels have been exceedingly low, resulting in water rationing in large parts of the city. It is estimated that even with them full, they would supply just 81% of the city’s water demand (a supply of 525,000 cubic metres per day versus a demand of 650,000 cubic metres). Not a very good statistic, and with them far from full …….We were promised El Nino rains, though what we’ve had so far, whilst heavy at times, has not been enough and couldn’t really be described as El Nino. However, one of the dams, Ndakaini, has seen an increase in its water level from 33% in October to 54% in November. There’s still quite a way to go to see it full, and we’re more than halfway through what would normally be the period of these short rains. So, whilst Manila, Ouagadougou and Cockermouth have experienced flooding in recent months, Nairobi seems, at this stage at least, to be set for more water rationing and a continuation of the drought in the months to come. Can’t we spread it out somehow?!
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