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Water Shortage in Kiambu County is likely to end following the rolling out of a water connection strategy by Kiambu governor James Nyoro on Wednesday.

Speaking during the commissioning of the Gachorue water project in Karuri, the governor said that over 20 thousand homes will be connected with clean drinkable water by end of this month.

The water has been collected from a reservoir in Tigoni, Limuru through ground water flow (gravity) and will produce 1 million cubic litres of water daily thereby improving water supply in Karuri by 25%.
He said that his administration intends to ensure that water connectivity in the county rises from the current 50 per cent to 80 per cent in the next two years.

Nyoro blamed the apparent low water connection to poor management of community water projects in the county saying that he had asked the county attorney to approach them with a view of merging the projects for efficient management.

“We are not rushing to merge the community water projects but are beseeching them to agree to merge so that we can have at least two water and sewerage companies in the county,” he said.

He said that the current water deficit is manageable adding that his government had factored millions of shillings in the current supplementary budget towards availing water to locals.

He however warned locals against using piped water for irrigation because the same would worsen the already bad situation.

‘The least we can allow is farmers with greenhouses to use water hydroponically and also those with fish ponds but not any other form of irrigation to ensure food security,’ he warned.

On the fight against the, he said that water connection would be harnessed in densely populated areas.

‘Water is very crucial in the fight against Covid-19 because we have to wash not only our hands but also our bodies as well as wash our clothes oftenly,’ he said.

Nyoro revealed that the county had received 185 million Kenya shillings from the Ministry of Health towards the fight against Covid-19 but it was yet to use the same.

‘We are deliberating on what to prioritize including buying Personal Protection Equipments (PPEs), World Health Organization recommended masks for the elderly and improvement of health facilities,’ he said.

He said that the county is well prepared to fight Covid-19 adding that it has already met the 300 beds capacity as directed by President Uhuru Kenyatta last Saturday.

Drinking water has become a scarce commodity in Kenya with only a small percentage having access to it and nearly 2/3 lacking basic sanitation