The government now recognizes water as part of critical infrastructure, which will be under the protection of the Water Police Unit.

This is after the Ministry of Water revealed up to Sh10.6 billion is lost yearly on non-revenue water.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki on Monday said the WPU will be mainly tasked with securing assets and other resources for the Ministry of Water including dams and boreholes from unauthorised access and criminal activities.

An initial squad of 350 personnel have been deployed to the unit to start their work.

They will be sent to various water saccos in the country to help manage the resources.

“The government has categorised water infrastructure as part of critical infrastructure. I have gazetted effective this month water infrastructure, reservoirs and all critical water sources as part of critical infrastructure, that falls under the Protected Areas Act which provides special protection,” Kindiki said.

Water and Sanitation Principal Secretary Paul Rono said the collaboration is timely, noting that it will put an end to vandalism, and illegal connections in water infrastructure.

“The government has been losing billions of shillings because of non-revenue water related to the destruction of water infrastructure, non-payment of water bills and wrong metering and that’s why we are working with the Interior Ministry to address this problem once and for all,” Rono said.

Rono said they are seeking a deployment of 322 police officers across the country’s critical water infrastructure.

Just like other police units within the National police service, it will be headed by a commandant.

The move warrants special protection of all storage and supply assets, systems, and networks owned and operated by the eight Water Works Development Agencies across the country.

Kindiki also disclosed numerous failed attacks targeted at water facilities and attempts by criminals seeking to access the infrastructure, which informed the decision to establish a dedicated team to guard against any compromise on the safety and supply to consumers.

The CS expressed concerns that the country would be plunged into an untold crisis if malicious people gained access to such sensitive utilities.

“We have had attempts by criminals who want to vandalize this infrastructure for economic reasons, but we have also had attempts by those who would have wanted to access these critical resources and critical infrastructure to attack our country’s security,” he said.

The unit has also been tasked to rein in illegal pipeline connections and siphoning off water from pipelines and storage facilities, a trend that has dealt various national water and sanitation agencies a major financial setback.

Rono said the establishment of the unit will go a long way in advancing the government’s socio-economic transformation agenda through the delivery of more water and irrigation projects across the country.

“With the current plans by the government to invest in close to 1,000 dams and boreholes, there is a need to make sure that all this infrastructure, including irrigation infrastructure, is protected,” he said.

The enactment of the Water Act 2016 devolved national water supply and sanitation services to the county governments, which run their own Water Service Providers (WSPs).

Under this framework, the providers who bank on the eight Water Works Development Agencies to deliver on their mandates, and avert the disturbing destruction of pipelines, water pumps, tanks, valves and wastewater manholes among other infrastructure, will enhance the steady and safe supply of this precious commodity.

APS is now a specialized unit that includes border patrols, guarding critical infrastructure and dealing with stock theft.

Under the new structure, the APS has formed units that include the Special Weapons and Tactics team, the Camel Unit, Rapid Deployment Unit, Border Police Unit, APS Stock Theft Prevention Unit and Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit.