Murang'a to sink 20 boreholes to boost water connectivity

The Murang’a government will sink 20 boreholes this year to boost water connectivity in the county.

Governor Irungu Kang’ata said that only about 66 per cent of residents have access to clean drinking water while the rest are forced to source for the commodity from rivers.

This is despite the fact that the county supplies about 82 per cent of the water supplied in Nairobi through Ndaka-ini dam.

The boreholes, he said, will be sunk under the community development programme under which MCAs consult their voters to establish their priority projects for implementation by the county government.

They will be sunk in areas worst affected by water shortages.

Kang’ata said his plan is to ensure all homes are connected to the commodity before his term ends and to better their standard of living.

The governor spoke at Mbogo-ini Primary School in Kigumo constituency during World Water Day celebrations, where he launched the first borehole under the programme.

Kang’ata said the borehole will serve about 15,000 homesteads in Kahumbu ward, one of the areas affected by acute water scarcity.

“Once the water is piped to their homes, these people will be saved from the long journeys they have been taking to rivers to fetch water,” he said.

In January, Kang'ata said he was considering drafting a legislation to compel Nairobi county to pay for water drawn from Murang'a.

He said water is a critical resource for residents and they should be compensated for it.

Area MP Joseph Kanyoro said residents are forced to walk more than six kilometres to the river.

This, he said, has caused many families untold suffering and lauded the governor for the programme that he said will reprieve residents.

“We hope another borehole will be sunk in another part of this ward to ensure more people are covered," the MP said.

He said the upper part of the constituency that borders the Aberdare Forest has an abundance of water that has not been channelled downstream to the middle zone that is forced to rely on rivers.

Woman Representative Betty Maina said women suffer the most when water is not accessible as they are tasked with the role of taking care of their households.

Once the commodity is supplied, Maina said it gives women the chance to focus on other areas of their lives such as economic empowerment.

“I'm happy that the county government has made steps to remedy the water shortage issue and we can eventually move on to the next level of providing irrigation water. Our people are not lazy. If sufficient water is provided, they can provide enough to sustain their families”.

Maina donated a water tank to the primary school to help in water conservation.