At least 17 Nairobi estates will face major water supply interruptions after the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company announced an emergency shutdown due to a significant pipeline leak in Kiambu County.
On Friday, June 26, the utility issued a public notice explaining that the outage stemmed from a large leak on the NCT Fresh Water Pipeline at Riabai, near Kirigiti, prompting the temporary closure of the Kigoro‑Gigiri transmission line.
Water flow is expected to return gradually once emergency repairs finish, with some areas anticipating low pressure or a total cut during the period.
“We wish to notify our customers of a temporary water supply interruption affecting several residential and commercial areas within Nairobi City County. The interruption is due to a major leakage detected on the NCT Fresh Water Pipeline at Riabai, near Kirigiti, in Kiambu County,” the company stated.
The affected estates include Westlands, Lavington, Kilimani, Upper Hill, Ngong Road, Madaraka, Lang’ata, Karen, Uthiru, Kawangware, Kangemi, Kibra, Ruai, Ngundu and Kamulu, in addition to clients of MAVWASCO and Oloolaiser Water Company.
Nairobi Water advised households, institutions and businesses in the zones to stock sufficient water for the duration of the repairs.
This interruption follows the utility’s ongoing infrastructure upgrades aimed at curbing future supply lapses.
Meanwhile, the Lang’ata regional team is moving the Magadi Road water pipeline that supplies Lang’ata, Karen and the Multimedia University area.
Nairobi Water said the relocation was triggered by a recent major burst, and that repairs are easier when the pipeline is repositioned.
The company expects that relocating the pipe will enable quicker maintenance, faster fixes, and help prevent similar incidents later.
The latest outage arrives just two weeks after Nairobi Water announced another large shutdown that affected 14 estates following a leak on the NCT‑Kigoro‑Gigiri‑Kabete line at Gatundu.
That earlier interruption, lasting about 24 hours, disrupted water supply in numerous residential and commercial zones as engineers worked on emergency repairs.