Kenya is pushing for a major rethink in how it evaluates water access, with officials arguing that the current focus on connection numbers fails to reflect whether households are actually receiving reliable supply.
Water Cabinet Secretary Eric Mugaa said the country must move beyond statistics that only capture coverage and instead assess the real experience of users, especially those facing interruptions, shortages, and uneven distribution. He spoke on Tuesday during the opening of a two-day conference titled Getting Wise: Measuring Human Experiences with Water to Support the Africa Union’s Water Vision 2063, held at the United Nations offices in Gigiri.
He said water planning must be closely tied to agriculture, irrigation systems, and economic growth, adding that food production cannot be sustained without strong investment in storage and distribution infrastructure.
“Access to water is not only a right but a way to dignify people,” Mugaa highlighted. “It is a way to feed the nation, because without water, there can’t be irrigation, especially for Kenya, without water storage. Food security is key to this administration’s agenda.”
Mugaa said the government is now shifting attention to long-term systems that ensure stability, pointing to the need for stronger financing arrangements, infrastructure expansion, and partnerships that guarantee consistent supply.
“There is need to go beyond water availability to actual infrastructure development through putting in place financing plans and partnerships to ensure that Kenyans can access water comfortably,” he said, adding that improved water access could also expand employment opportunities and support economic prosperity.
He announced that the Ministry of Water is working on a new initiative known as Kenya Resilient Irrigation and Sustainable Economies, or K-RISE, aimed at improving irrigation systems and strengthening water security across the country.
“We are in the process of developing what we are calling K-RISE, the Kenya Resilient Irrigation and Sustainable Economies, which is first of all to ensure there is water security,” he said. “We also need a centralized data systems.”
The Cabinet Secretary raised concern that existing monitoring systems may not reflect real conditions on the ground, saying most assessments focus on numbers of connections without examining reliability.
“Our major concern is about percentage connectivity, the number of beneficiaries and connections. Does anybody care to follow up how stable is that connection?” he added.
He said there is need for a shift in mindset on how success in the sector is defined, urging a focus on efficiency and lived experience rather than only technical indicators.
“This tells us that we need a paradigm shift, a mindset change on the metrics we use in measuring the comfortability and access to water to how efficient it is,” the CS highlighted. “We need a genuine conversation to achieve this.”
Mugaa also confirmed a cooperation framework between the Ministry of Water and Northwestern University aimed at improving methods of tracking human experience with water services.
He added that the ministry is working with county governments, development partners, and private sector players to strengthen innovation in water management, with emphasis on youth participation.
Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu, who chairs the Council of Governors Water and Natural Resources Committee, said many rural communities are still struggling with access, with some residents walking long distances to get water.
“In some Counties, women walk for more than 15 kilometres in search of water and in most rural areas, concern is more about availability and not the cleanliness of water,” Irungu highlighted.
He added that in some areas, access is further complicated by competition between people and wildlife for limited water sources.
“In some places, we have people who compete with elephants and donkeys who will take water first,” he added.