Improving Water Safety Among Water Vendors in Nairobi

Access to safe water in Nairobi’s low-income communities depends on small-scale water vendors, but are they delivering water that’s safe to drink?

Most households in Nairobi’s informal settlements rely on water kiosks, carts, and tankers rather than direct utility connections. While these vendors are essential for water access, research reveals that 67% of sampled vendors distributed water with insufficient chlorine levels, increasing contamination risks before consumption. Despite regulatory guidelines requiring vendor oversight, most operators lack basic water safety knowledge and receive minimal monitoring from authorities.

This comprehensive study by USAID’s URBAN WASH project examined 327 households and 50 vendors across five Nairobi communities, combining water quality testing, household surveys, and stakeholder interviews to understand the challenges and opportunities for improving vendor water safety.

The findings reveal critical gaps in knowledge, regulation, and infrastructure, but also identify practical, actionable solutions, including vendor training programs, routine water quality monitoring, and innovative certification systems that households actually want.

Download the full report to discover:

• Why water quality deteriorates between collection and distribution points
• What households truly value when choosing water vendors (hint: it’s not just price)
• How lessons from Kenya’s transportation and pharmaceutical sectors can improve water vendor regulation
• Three concrete recommendations for improving water safety among small-scale providers

URBAN WASH (Advancing Urban Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene Resilience Worldwide) was a USAID-funded applied research and technical assistance program led by Tetra Tech. The project focused on improving sustainable, resilient, and equitable WASH services in urban, peri-urban, and informal settlements in low- and middle-income countries. Designed and originally executed as a five-year program, URBAN WASH was terminated in February 2025 along with the vast majority of USAID’s overseas development assistance programs.