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1.2 INStItUtIoNaL aND LegaL frameWork
Informal settlements fall outside the formal planning framework of the State Authorities, and therefore lack legal standing. The County Governments and all other utilities rarely plan the provision of water
1.3 SItUatIoN aNaLYSIS
and sanitation supply services to these areas. The inhabited lands are mainly owned by the State, private or are trust land.
1.3.1 Challenges of Water Service Provision in the Informal Settlements
The informal settlements are mostly unplanned, resulting in inadequate infra- structures like roads, water, sanitation, sewerage, drainage, and electricity. Clean water, adequate sanitation and hygiene are visibly substandard. The continuing expansion and densification of settlements render upgrading and service improvements for water and sanitation supply services to informal settlements extremely necessary.
The sources of water in informal settlements are often from alternative sources and from resellers at water kiosks operated by community groups or individual entrepreneurs, and in some cases, from push-cart vendors.
Some water kiosks have legal connections with accounts and meters, but some are illegally connected. Water theft and low revenue collection has a significant negative impact on the finances and hinder the ability for expansion. These unauthorized low quality connections also lead to losses in water pressure and contribute to leaks. Sanitation conditions in Informal Settlements are a permanent health hazard and an affront to human dignity, and the sewerage infrastructure is either broken down, lacking or grossly inadequate. Currently, the responsibility for latrine emptying and sludge removal is being handled by small scale operators, and it is disposed haphazardly either in the sewer inlets, but mainly in
drainage ditches, and or rivers.
Drainage is insufficient, with natural drainage ditches and storm water gullies carrying liquid and solid waste but not in an envi- ronmentally friendly or hygienic path. Rain water flows into latrine structures forming pools and flowing into footpaths and nearby rivers.
All these conditions lead to acute water and vector-borne infectious diseases such as diarrhoea and malaria, with epidemics suchascholeraandtyphoidoccurringwith greater frequency and impact.
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