Reprieve for Isiolo North residents as Sh96m water project completed

Over 2,000 households in Cherab, Isiolo North who have been relying on water trucking for years and walking for many kilometres in search of the crucial commodity have breathed a sigh of relief following the completion of Sh96.7 million Merti-Korbesa community water project.

The water will be drawn from a borehole in Merti, which will be producing 35,000 litres per hour, and supplied along a 26-kilometre pipeline to Matarba, Saleti, Riga, Korbesa and Biliqi areas and will feed several tanks installed at strategic points to ensure enough supply for domestic and livestock use.

The national and county governments have been spending about Sh10 million annually on water trucking in the ward that is among those hardest hit by drought that has seen water sources dry up.

While commissioning the project funded by the European Union, Public Service and Special Programmes Chief Administrative Secretary Abdul Bahari said it will help mitigate the effects of drought and end the residents’ struggle of walking for many kilometres to look for water.

Resilience building

“This is part of the government’s resilience building programmes that will end the water crisis that has bedevilled the region for many years and [will] enable the government save the funds we have been using on water trucking,” Mr Bahari said, adding that the project will benefit 8,000 residents.

He was accompanied by National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) Board Chairman Raphael Nzomo and the authority’s CEO Rtd Col Hared Hassan Adan.

The project is being implemented by NDMA, the Northern Water Works Development Agency and the Isiolo County government.

Patrol motorbikes

NDMA has provided the community with two motorbikes for patrolling the area to ensure the water infrastructure is not vandalised, so that there is uninterrupted supply.

Mr Nzomo said the authority was keen on offering lasting solutions to water challenges in arid and semi-arid areas (Asals) as water trucking, which was used as a quick fix at the height of drought, was a very expensive and an unsustainable undertaking.

“We are keen on getting into partnerships with various stakeholders to come up with lasting solutions to the water crisis especially in Asals,” he said, adding that NDMA had in the last two years supported implementation of water-related interventions worth over Sh330 million in various Asal counties.

The authority completed a 13-kilometre pipeline from Merti to Matarba and established a storage tank with a 225,000-litre capacity at a cost of Sh30 million while the Water Agency worked on the remaining 13-kilometre pipeline to Korbesa.

Water kiosks established

Governor Mohamed Kuti’s administration has already established kiosks at strategic points and has been tasked to supply water to nearby schools and health facilities.

The project’s water users’ committee chairperson, Mr Godana Diba, said it was a relief for residents who used to walk for many kilometres to fetch water from River Ewaso Nyiro and who on some occasions would be attacked by armed bandits.

He said women will now have ample time to cook for their children and help fight malnutrition that remains high in the region.

“There will also be improved hygiene and cases of water borne diseases will be minimal due to enhanced access to clean water,” an elated Mr Diba said.

Extend supply to Biliqi

Isiolo North Sub-County administrator Adan Haro Denge said the county government will, in partnership with USAid-Nawiri, extend the supply from Korbesa to Biliqi, and revealed that the tendering process was underway.

“We are committed to ease the burden our people in far flung areas go through in search of water,” he said.

NDMA has also supported a 15-kilometre Mokori irrigation project in Burat and provided 23 community groups with asset creation tools such as irrigation equipment, water storage tanks, improved livestock breeds and fruit-tree seedlings.   BY DAILY NATION