Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Africa Water & Sanitation & Hygiene Nov-Dec 2017 | Page 16

Water Services Enhancement
KENYA
WATER
INDUSTRY
ASSOCIATION
water loss and energy consumption. Minimizing water
loss through an active leakage reduction program and
installation of appropriate valves will immediately decrease
energy consumption and will reduce water service down
time.
Most energy will be saved by right sizing of pumps,
use of energy efficient motors, introduction of
energy management systems, piping improvements
and replacement of faulty pumps. Some more
recommendations coming out of the guidelines are:
- Operating pumps
near to efficiency
point
- Modifying pumping
system, pipework
and pump losses to
minimize throttling
operation
- Installing Variable
Speed Drives in case
of variable demand pattern to regulate flow rather
than throttling
- Use of booster pumps for small loads requiring
higher pressure
- Trimming impellers for reduced flow and head
Aside from the technical specifications and aspects,
the Technical Guidelines also offer recommendations
for a transparent procurement process, the selection
of the right equipment, the establishment of technical
specifications, and the installation and maintenance of
pumps, motors, pipes, valves, and water meters.
Those Technical Guidelines will support the Water
Service Providers to significantly reduce their Non-
Revenue-Water and high electricity costs. In Kenya,
electricity costs average 40% for many water utilities.
To support water utilities in finding ways to reduce
their energy consumption, Energy Audits for 29 Water
Service Providers were conducted in 2012 and some
of the recommendations from the audit report were
implemented by the utilities helping them to safe between
5000,- KES to 200.000,-KES per month. Purchasing,
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Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • November - December 2017
implementing and maintaining the adequate equipment
will therefore not only increase the revenue of the water
utilities but also decrease their energy costs. The money
saved can then be ring-fenced and be invested in the
establishment of new household connections. This will
make the utilities more efficient, ultimately support the
Kenyan government in achieving both, their Vision 2030
and the SDGs.
About the Author
Eng. Sabine Sibler finished her
M.Sc. in Civil and Environmental
Engineering with a focus on
wastewater treatment and
management at the Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State
University, USA. Before that, she
had graduated at the school for
applied sciences Weihenstephan, Germany with a diploma
in Environmental Engineering with a focus on water body
restoration. After her studies, she worked as a research
assistant at the prestigious Swiss Water Research institute
EAWAG.
She has been working for the German NGO bfz gGmbH
since 2008 and implemented projects in Brazil and
Bangladesh. She has worked as a short term expert in
Angola, Mozambique, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.
Presently, she is the long term expert for bfz gGmbH
in Kenya since April 2011. The project focuses on the
STRENGTHENING OF WATER ASSOCIATIONS
(SWAP-bfz). Our partners are the Water Service
Providers’ Association (WASPA) and the Kenya Water
Industry Association (KWIA). The goal is to support the
associations to improve their sphere of competence as
well as to offer excellent services to their members. The
project is financed by the German Federal Ministry of
Economic Cooperation and Development.