From catchment to crown: accelerating water resilience in Kenya

World Waternet team with from left to right: George Sanga (Senior Advisor), Frodo van Oostveen (CEO), Simon Kamuyu Muturi (Project Manager Catchment to Tap), Jakob Ollivier de Leth (Project Manager/YEP Blue Deal), Michelle Otieno (Project Manager WaterWorX), Peter de Koning (Country Director Kenya)

The King and Queen witnessing the work of World Waternet 

The key objective of last week’s economic mission and state visit was to strengthen collaboration between Kenya and the Netherlands as strategic and economic water- and agriculture partners. World Waternet and Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (WaterWorX) and the Water Resources Authority (Blue Deal) have been working together since 2017. The economic mission provided opportunities to accelerate investments for sustainable water solutions. The following key business & investment opportunities were identified: Water Resources Management, Water Supply & Smart Management, Climate Resilience & Circular Economy, Flood & Drought mitigation, Sanitation & Waste-to-Value Management and last mile connectivity.

The King and Queen witnessing the work of World Waternet

Our World Waternet team in Kenya, and Dutch and international trade and development partners at large, were honored with receiving their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima during their state visit. While some were able to interact with them directly, and our own project lead Catchment 2 Tap Simon Kamuyu Muturi was planting ceremonial trees with them, we joined a high-level Dutch delegation in the economic mission on water and agriculture. “Water doesn’t come from the tap, water comes from the catchment” and "from contacts to contracts” summarised the philosophy and the intention of a week-long doing business with the Netherlands and Kenya. Building on the long-standing trade relationship between our countries; think roses, coffee, dairy and....water!

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima planting a tree in Thogoto forest at the source of Nairobi's Mbagathi river in presence of our project manager Simon Kamuyu Muturi.

Development opportunities for the projects

The economic mission was led by Ms. Reinette Klever, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development with the water track lead being guided by Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP).

Trade delegation with Ms. Reinette Klever, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development at the opening day of the economic mission

In Kenya, World Waternet has been water cycle partner of both the Water Resources Authority (Blue Deal) and Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (WaterWorX). Kenya is facing challenges with regards to water scarcity, floods, an infrastructure gap, and high Non-Revenue Water. With goals to increase safe drinking water access from 73 to 85%, sanitation coverage from 33 to 66%, and reduce NRW from 43 to 15%, all by 2027, connecting the right partners is crucial.

In the spirit of our partnerships, our objective was to establish a relationship between WRA/NCWSC and the Dutch business as well as Kenyan and international investors. On the catchment side of the water cycle, there are development opportunities in: flood management – a concrete example being the new 120km Siqley canal to prevent a huge region from yearly flooding – Flood Early Warning Systems, and smart metering. Then, between the catchment and the tap there is a strong investment portfolio including reuse of backwash water, energy efficiency and renewables, and non-revenue water.

Our project manager WaterWorX Michelle Otieno with Ms. Reinette Klever, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, at the closing session of the economic mission to promote trade and investment for sustainable water solutions.

Matchmaking for a healthy water cycle

In matchmaking sessions, we discussed the opportunities with existing partners while establishing relationships with new ones. Even opening different commercial leads. Because for both Kenya and our own government, public-private partnerships are the way to close the gaps in water sector development. Just to name a few, Dutch businesses/organizations include, but are not limited to, Royal HaskoningDHV, Wavesave, Royal Eijkelkamp, IHE Delft, VNG-I, Acacia Water and LG Sonic. Kenya’s policies and ambitions provide solid ground for Dutch expertise on water management and plenty business opportunities throughout the sector and nexus areas, rooted in local institutional empowerment and supportive of Kenya's youth, women and grassroots leadership, and socio-ecological systems. The collective agenda aligned with our vision and belief: We believe that a healthy water cycle should be treated as a global common good, for future generations, in the interest of all.

10!?

The trade mission ended on Thursday, allowing us and our CEO Frodo van Oostveen to showcase some of the progress and interact with the stakeholders in both the Njururi initiative and Mathare River initiative. Both these initiatives demonstrate our river basin approach we have developed with Dutch partner Embassy of the Earth, very much aligning with the newly defined 5 key pathways for public-private collaboration to strengthen water resilience (WEF, McKinsey). We started at Del Monte, growing pineapples in the Thika River Basin, to plant ceremonial trees between their wastewater treatment facility and their nature-based solution in the form of a 10-acre artificial wetland – the only pollution remaining caused by the 2 hippopotamuses residing in the ponds. When the manager had asked his staff to dig 10 holes for trees in the morning, the response was: "10!?, do you mean 10,000?". It shows how the taskforce conservation, including also Dutch exporter Penta Flowers, the Kenyan army, the water authority, and community members, is fully committed to restore biodiversity in the Thika River catchment.

From suits to soil

Back to Nairobi, the World Waternet team walked along one of its rivers, the Mathare River, together with our partners of NCWSC, WRA and other (community) stakeholders in the somewhat surreal landscape, where floods and then demolitions cleared the riparian zones of the river, many lives were lost here, during heavy rain-induced floods in the spring of 2024. The local community in collaboration with the local and national stakeholders aim to restore the watershed and build a better life, in the interest of all. World Waternet is on board of that journey and it is a humbling and critical experience, after high-level engagements in formal attire, to hear and smell the river, get your hands dirty in the soil and engage with those that live, work in and produce from that ecosystem. The same way our King and Queen did when planting trees at the source of one of Nairobi's other rivers.

Group photo of the World Waternet team with some of the drivers that shape the future of the Mathare River ecosystem including NCWSC, WRA, waste managers, community leaders and youth and elderly representatives. On the background the Mau Mau falls just after the confluence of Mathare River and Nairobi River just in between Lucky Summer and Mathare.