Coast Water Works Development Agency

Who We are

The Coast Water Works Development Agency (CWWDA) is a state corporation created under the Ministry of Water and Sanitation pursuant to the Water Act of 2016 and is one of the 9 Water Works Development Agencies in Kenya. The Coast Water Works Development Agency transited from the Coast Water Services Board (CWSB) on 3rd May 2019 through a gazette Notice No.28 of 26th April 2019. The former Coast Water Services Board was established through a Gazette Notice No. 1328 of 26th February 2004.

Under the Water Act of 2016 the mandate of the Agency is to develop and maintain sustainable water and sanitation infrastructure within the Coast region.

The functions of the CWWDA are governed by:

Section 65 of The Water Act 2016
Legal Notice Number 27 of 26th April 2019

The Water Act 2016 gives us the power to:

Undertake development, maintenance and management of water works in the Coast Region
Operate water works and provide water services (until a time when these services are handed over to respective counties).
Provide technical services and capacity building to County Governments.

The CWWDA covers an area of approximately 83,630Km2 which runs across 6 counties namely Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi, Taita-Taveta, Lamu and Tana River. In each of these counties there is a Water Service Provider to oversee the supply of water and sewerage services to the residents. These are Mombasa Water Supply and Sanitation Company (MOWASSCO), Kwale Water & Sewerage Company (KWAWASCO), Kilifi-Mariakani Water & Sewerage Company (KIMAWASCO), Malindi Water & Sewerage Company (MAWASCO), Taita-Voi Water & Sewerage Company (TAVEVO), Lamu Water & Sewerage Company (LAWASCO) and Tana Water & Sewerage Company (TAWASCO).

The estimated population in the area of jurisdiction is 4.4Million with a total population of approximately 55% (2.4Million) served with piped water. The current water demand for water in the region is approximated at 329,306m3/day against a production of 180,000m3/day.

Our Vision

To be a World Class water and sanitation infrastructure development Agency.

Our Mision

To develop quality water and sanitation infrastructure and offer bulk water services for a sustainable economy and social growth.

Our Slogan

Water for Generations

Core Values

Teamwork
Integrity
Professionalism
Accountability
Customer focused
Transparency

Customer Satisfaction Statement

We value each customer equally and so we commit to you that we will conduct our business in a professional, efficient and courteous manner.

Strategic Objectives

To recruit and retain at least 80% highly qualified staff by 2023
To increase water production from 67% to 90% and water coverage from 56% to 80% by 2023
To increase sanitation coverage from 20% to 25% by 2023
To improve ICT infrastructure and services from 40% to 80% by 2023
To improve revenue collection from 60% to 90% by 2023
To reduce operation cost from 18% to 15% by 2023
To create alternative source of funds by 2023
To solicit for financial support from GOK through budget allocation by 2023
To adhere to legal & ethical standards to 2023
To maintain effective communication to 2023

Our History

Year 1963

The birth of Coast Water Works Development Agency can only be appreciated by examining a brief history of the water sector in Kenya. The water supply services have undergone a tremendous transformation since independence in 1963.

Year 1965

The 1965 policy paper on “African Socialism and its application to planning in Kenya” directed that basic services like water were to be provided free or subsidized by the Government.

Year 1974

The Government elevated the Water Department from the Ministry of Agriculture to a fully-fledged Ministry. The new Ministry undertook to improve efficiency and expand water services and this action led to the taking over of several water supplies previously managed by the local community, local authorities and other public and private institutions. It was during this time that the National Water Master Plan had the objective of ensuring that potable water was made available at a reasonable distance to all households by the year 2000. The Government embarked on an ambitious activities of construction of water supply schemes, sinking of boreholes, construction of dams and provision of infrastructure in form of pipes. The activities became unsustainable with global recession setting in.

Year 1986

Launch of the Sessional Paper No. 1 on “Economic Management and renewed growth”. This was hoped to revive all sectors of the economy. However it did not meet its objectives.

Year 1999

Consequently, the Government came up with Sessional Paper No. 1 of 1999 on National Policy on Water Resources Management and Development. The Paper recommended management options, which are participatory of all actors in the water sector.

Year 2002

The Water Act 2002 was enacted. The Water Act 2002 provided the legal framework for the implementation of new institutional arrangements based on the following principles:

The separation of the Management of Water Resources and
The Water Supply and Sewerage provision

Key milestones of the reforms saw the establishment and operationalization of all the new key institutions in the Water Sector. These were:

The regulator – Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB)
The asset holder – Water Services Boards (WSBs)
The commercialized agents – Water Service Providers (WSPs)
The manager of the water resources – Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA)
The Water Services Trust Fund (WSTF)
The legal arm for water issues – Water Appeals Board (WAB)

It was out of the water reforms of 2002 that the Coast Water Services Board was formed.

Year 2010

The new constitution – The country adopted a new constitution in August 2010.The constitution has a number of provisions that have important implications for the water sector. These provisions are as follows:

Articles 43 which entrenches water as a constitutional right by establishing a right to “to clean and safe water in adequate quantities” and Article 21 which places an obligation to the state and every state organ to take steps to progressively realize this right.
Article 62 (1) (i) states that public land include all rivers, lakes and other water bodies as defined by an Act of Parliament.
Article 6, 174, 175 and 176 creates a system of devolved government with a two-tier system of government comprising of the national and county government. Pursuant to this, the functions of the water sector are allocated between the two tiers of government. With the coming of the new constitution, which devolved water services to the counties, the role of the Water Service Boards shall be that of infrastructure development. However the Board shall continue to hold the assets in trust, on behalf of the National Government

Vision 2030

The history of water supply services cannot be concluded without the mention of Kenya’s Vision 2030. Kenya’s long term development agenda is set out in the Vision 2030 blueprint. The aim of the Vision is to make Kenya a globally competitive and prosperous country by transforming it into an industrialized middle income nation, providing high quality of life for all its citizens in a clean and secure environment. The Vision 2030 recognizes that Kenya is a water-scarce country and has identified water and sanitation as one of the key social sectors to be transformed under the social pillar. The vision 2030 aims at increasing access to safe water and sanitation in the rural and urban areas of Kenya.

The specific strategies in Vision 2030 include:

Raising the standards of the country’s overall water resource management, storage and harvesting capacity;
Rehabilitating the hydro-meteorological data gathering network;
Constructing multipurpose dams; and
Constructing water and sanitation facilities to support industries and a growing urban population.

In this regard, the Coast Water Works Development Agency has set up elaborate activities aimed at achieving the Kenya’s Vison 2030.

Water Act 2016:

This was an act of Parliament which redefined the roles and responsibilities for the management, development and regulation of water resources and water services. The 2016 Water act defines national public water works (or Water Works Development Agencies – WWDAs), as water works whose water resource is:

Cross county in nature,

Financed out of the national government share of national revenue and intended to serve a function of the national government. These may include assets such as water storage and water works for the bulk distribution of water services.

Furthermore, it specifies that development and management of national public works will be undertaken by the WWDAs whilst county public works will be a responsibility of the respective county.

The 2016 Water Act provides for handing over of national public works upon commissioning from WWDAs to the county government, joint committee or authority of the county governments if the water works’ assets exclusively rest geographically within their jurisdiction. The Coast Water Works Development Agency transited from the Coast Water Services Board (CWSB) on 3rd May 2019. Under the Water Act of 2016 the mandate of the Agency is to develop and maintain sustainable water and sanitation infrastructure within the Coast region.

Our Mandate

The core mandate of Coast Water Works Development Agency as given under clause 53(1) of the Water Act 2002 state that: “The Board shall, as a licensee, be responsible for the efficient and economical provision of water services authorized by the license”.

Coast Water Services Board’s core function include but not limited to:

Development and management of assets that will ensure development of services and facilities to increase access to water and sanitation.
Hold/lease assets and water services infrastructure.
Efficient and economic provision of water as authorized by the License.
Ensure compliance with licensing requirements by the WSPs.
Assume responsibility of WSP as a last resort.

Water Supply

The Water Works Development Agency were mandated to supply water but not directly. Supply of water was to be done through a contractual agreement between the Boards and their agents called Water Service Providers. However for the case of the Coast Water Services Board, the bulk water supply is handled by the Board which then sells the commodity to the Water Service providers. This was inevitable especially for the transboundary water supply system which include the Mzima pipeline, the Marere pipeline, the Baricho pipeline and Tiwi boreholes. Our area of jurisdiction coincides with the administrative boundaries of the Coast Region covering six counties namely :

Mombasa County
Kilifi County
Kwale County
Taita-Taveta County
Lamu County
Tana River County

Our Sources

The Coast Water Works Development Agency handles bulk water supply from the following sources:

Mzima Springs located in Taita-Taveta County,
Baricho well fields located in Kilifi County,
Marere Springs located in Kwale County
Tiwi boreholes located in Kwale County
The Hola Water supply project located in Tana River County supplies water to Hola town
Tthe Shella wells in Lamu County are the main source of water in the County
Rural population are served by shallow wells and pans, dams and boreholes.

Our Commitement

We commit to efficient and timely communication with our customers

Office hours – Monday to Friday 0800hrs to 1230hrs and 1400hrs to 1630hrs
Telephone calls – We shall answer calls within 30seconds
Oral Mail – We shall acknowledge in writing within 14days from date of receipt.

Information

All the Board’s information will be accessible to you on our website on www.cwsb.go.ke, on local media and during our stakeholders’ forums.

Procurement

We shall:

Adhere strictly to the Public Procurement and Disposal Act 2005.
Ensure 30% of the government tenders are allocated to the youth and women enterprises.

Interruptions to water supply

Customers will be promptly informed of any water supply interruptions resulting from our works through the local radio stations.

Listen to you

Please feel free to air your views about our services. A suggestion box is available at our offices. You may also use our email or telephone lines.

Emergency Response

We will provide alternative supplies using water boozers during disasters such as cholera outbreaks or drought.

Services to vulnerable groups

We shall strive to make our services sensitive to the needs of our customers who are physically challenged.

How can you help us serve you better?

We request our customers to:

Treat our employees courteously
Allow authorized Water Service Providers’ staff access to all meters at all times for the purposes of meter reading and maintenance
Keep your meter area clean for easy reading
Give us all the appropriate information so that we can deal with your enquiry timely and effectively
Pay your bills promptly
Report all leakages you see in your area
Report all illegal connections
Report all cases of vandalism of our water infrastructure
Use water responsibly – for example water that has been used to wash clothes can be used to clean the house.
Please feel free to make use of our anti-corruption boxes and suggestion boxes that have been placed strategically for your convenient use at our premises.