Kwale county government has launched several multibillion-shilling urban and rural water supply and sanitation projects.
The new initiative by the devolved government aims to improve access to clean water, ensure a sustainable supply, and promote healthier living conditions for residents of the coastal county.
Governor Fatuma Achani says the projects are designed to improve access to water, sanitation and hygiene for all.
Governor Achani says the ambitious urban water project dubbed Mabokoni -Kilole Water Project in Diani municipality is funded by the World Bank and implemented by the Kwale Water and Sewerage Company Ltd.
She further said the rural water supply schemes comprising dams and boreholes are funded and implemented by the devolved government to improve access to rural communities living without access to basic drinking water.
Achani was addressing the press after an extensive tour of the water project sites accompanied by County Water Executive Hemedi Mwabudzo and Kwale Water and Sewerage Company Ltd Managing Director (MD) Eric Parmet.
The coastal county boss says the rural water schemes will lift a heavy burden from women and girls who bear the burden of water collection over long distances which has been associated with negative effects on well-being, school attendance and a higher risk of gender-based violence.
Achani said the water projects in the tourism hub of Diani, primarily focus on drilling 9 boreholes, constructing huge storage tanks, and upgrading existing pipelines to address the area’s persistent water shortages.
“The Diani water project aims to provide clean drinking water to a population of over 2,000 people in the tourism hub circuit,” she said.
She said the notable projects include the drilling of new boreholes, replacing the old Ngombeni-Ukunda line and building new distribution lines to Kubo South which are all expected to be complete by the end of 2025.
Achani says the devolved government has since August 2022 constructed 17 dams in the arid and semi-arid areas of Kwale often hard-hit by prolonged dry seasons, drilled 40 boreholes and installed 500 kilometers of bulk water pipeline across the county to enhance access to sufficient water supply for people and livestock.
She says her administration is determined to upgrade existing dams, water pans, reservoirs, boreholes and construct new ones in arid and semi-arid areas of the coastal county to further boost food production.
“All the mega water projects are designed to improve the health and hygiene of the populations besides providing water for livestock and irrigation purposes to achieve food security,” Achani said.
MD Parmet affirmed that the Diani urban project will enhance water flow efficiency by providing an additional volume of 10 million cubic litres of water in a day.
“The project will have a 10-million litre volume capacity in a day which is enough to supply the targeted areas. Once complete the residents of Ukunda, Tiwi, Kombani and Check Point areas will have access to an abundant supply of water daily,” said Parmet.
Parmet described the development of the new water infrastructure as ‘a long-awaited relief’ noting that it will soon end the prolonged water scarcity in Diani municipality and its environs.
He says over the years, access to piped water has been declining due to lack of extension, deteriorating distribution network infrastructures and rapid population growth.
Parmet urged the benefiting communities to maintain the water infrastructure provided by the county government and the Kwale Water Company to ensure its long-term effectiveness.
By Hussein Abdullahi and Wambui Chege