Cholera outbreak fears in Nairobi as water mixes with raw sewage

Residents of Nairobi’s Umoja estate have raised their concerns over the safety of the water they have been consuming in their homes in the past several weeks. A spot check by Daily Nation in Umoja 1 reveals that many residents, especially children, have in recent days contracted infections as a result of drinking what they suspect to be contaminated water.
Samples of water from the taps was found to be green or brown and in some cases smelling of sewage. This comes at a time when the Nairobi City County last week confirmed an outbreak of cholera in the City.
Most plots, from Umoja 1 A to E, have had their water meters locked in the past five days because of the water contamination, which residents fear may bring an epidemic of waterborne diseases in one of Nairobi’s most populous neighbourhoods.
“The water has been dirty for long, it has been mixed with sewage and we had been using it unknowingly. We did not know we were drinking sewage until much later when I opened the kitchen tap and the water was stinking,” said Honest Rimoi, a resident of the estate.
His children, he says, contracted amoeba after consuming the water which has become dirtier in past four days.
“We are tired of buying water everyday even when we are not even sure if it is clean. We do not know where they (vendors) draw the water from,” he said.
Many other residents have complained of suffering from ailments such as amoeba, typhoid or diarrhea as a result of drinking contaminated water.