The Stream, November 26: Nairobi’s Poorest & ‘Water Mafia’

The Global Rundown

China plans to accelerate its planned water conservation projects, while General Mills has expressed a new commitment to water conservation around the world. Poor residents of Nairobi, Kenya must contend with a mafia of private vendors to obtain their water, and the City of Los Angeles loses 7 million gallons of water a day to main breaks. Finally, scientists have heard an alpine glacier “hum”.

“The biggest barrier is not land tenure, it’s not engineering, it’s not financial, it’s not the feasibility of it and it’s not the willingness (of slum dwellers) to pay. The biggest thing is the vested interest: either the local cartels or simply the government of the day.” – Sam Parker, Chief Executive of Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor, on the problem of a ‘water mafia’ in Nairobi. (Reuters)

By The Numbers

172 Number of water conservation projects officially planned for China in the coming years. On Monday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stated that the projects would be accelerated in order to promote economic growth and deal with water shortages. Reuters

Three/day Average rate of water main breaks in drought-stricken Los Angeles. According to a representative for the L.A. Department of Water and Power, the breaks amount to “several million gallons of water a day”. CBS Los Angeles

Science, Studies, And Reports

Researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have captured a natural ‘hum’ emitted by alpine glaciers. Advanced seismology allows the scientists to record the sound, which has to do with ice cracking and water flow. Scripps Institution of Oceanography

On The Radar

Many slum dwellers in Nairobi, Kenya depend completely on private vendors for their water supply. Only half of Nairobi’s 3 million residents have access to piped municipal water, and private suppliers work together in a tightly controlled cartel. Residents pay 10 – 25 times the price for often sub-quality water from private kiosks. Reuters

General Mills announced its commitment to water conservation at The Nature Conservancy Global Water Summit in Chicago last week. CEO and Chairman Ken Powell expressed the company’s desire to protect water resources in communities where it operates around the world.  Triple Pundit