Cabinet Secretary for Water, Sanitation & Irrigation Eric Mugaa has urged Kenyans to consider storing water as the short rains begin to pound most parts of the country.

In a statement on Monday, November 11, 2024, Mugaa indicated that the country’s storage capacity for water was paltry and that Kenyans should involve themselves in various rainwater storage options to boost food security.

“The short rains have begun in some parts of the country. Let us not watch it all become surface runoff and end up in our lakes and the ocean. Our water storage capacity is about 107m3 per capita. In addition to our dams and other storage infrastructure, we can all contribute to water storage by embracing rain harvesting in our own small ways, such as roof harvesting. Farmers can do small water pans/ basins and ditches on their farms,” Mugaa said.

Mugaa stated that the concerted efforts by all Kenyans to employ means of harvesting and storing rainwater would significantly boost agricultural production.

“The long-term plan is to have adequate water storage to solve our flooding challenges and use the water for irrigation. This will then boost our food security efforts,” he added.

Rainfall forecasts

The statement comes after the meteorological department predicted the beginning of rains in various regions of the country.

The weatherman also indicated that the rains will be experienced side by side with lower temperatures at night of up to 10 degrees Celsius in some areas and day temperatures expected to hit 30 degrees Celsius.

“Rainfall is expected in the Highlands East and West of the Rift Valley, the Lake Victoria Basin, the Rift Valley, the South-eastern lowlands, the Coast and North-eastern Kenya during the first half of the forecast period. Isolated storms may occur over some parts of these regions,” a statement from the weatherman on November 5, 2024 read.

On September 26, 2024, Nairobi County partnered with a Japanese firm to predict weather patterns and use drones to map and reach out to citizens affected by the effects of flooding.

Additionally, Nairobi governor in 2023 mulled plans to purchase boats, inflatable rafts and motorboats to help in reaching areas affected by floods in the city.

This is after the city was engulfed in running water following weeks of rainfall which had overwhelmed Nairobi’s drainage and waterways.

Early this year, more than 170 people were killed after heavy rains rocked most parts of the country.