@Alicewangechi
A month after President William Ruto ended the fight for the controversial Sh800 million Maragua dam between water firms, over 1,000 more homesteads have benefited from the reservoir.
The President ended a four-year battle over control of the dam between Murang’a Water and Sanitation Company (Muwasco) and Murang’a South Water and Sanitation Company (Muswasco) that had even split even residents. Ruto announced that Muwasco would manage the dam.
Muswasco that controlled the dam for about a year since March last had connected about 2,000 homesteads.
The dam constructed by the national government has the capacity to produce 860, 000 cubic meters of water daily and is expected to boost water coverage in Maragua constituency.
Muswasco managing director Mary Nyaga handed over the facility to Muwasco soon after the President’s declaration, and the latter immediately embarked on connecting homes and institutions.
Muwasco indicated that it plans to connect over 20, 000 homesteads to water from the dam by June to end the suffering of Maragua residents.
The constituency is predominantly semi-arid and only about 30 per cent of its residents are connected to clean water, with the majority relying on streams and boreholes.
This is despite the fact that it hosts the fastest growing town in Murang’a county, Kenol, where the Kenol-Sagana-Marua dual carriageway starts and which is considered the gateway to the Mt Kenya region.
Kenol, the hub of Murang'a's hospitality industry, is dotted with donkeys carrying jerry cans of water to residential homes while businesses are forced to sink boreholes due to water shortages.
Previously, Muswasco covered Maragua, Kandara and Kigumo constituencies while Muwasco only covered Murang’a town and its environs.
Local residents have registered their satisfaction after being connected to water supply, saying their endless journeys to fetch the commodity have been ended.
“We can now fetch water in our compounds, something that has never happened before. We can see that more water pipes are being installed to connect more homes,” Peter Kimani, a resident, said.
Murang’a Technical Training Institute and Maragua Level 4 hospital are among several institutions that have also been connected with water.
Murang’a Technical’s principal Robison Wachira said the availability of water will drastically boost hygiene in the institution and make it easier for learners to focus on their studies.
“We were previously forced to fetch water from streams or source from a borehole but we now have a consistent supply of water,” Wachira said, adding that piped water will lessen waterborne diseases.
The water connection, he noted, will especially help students taking hospitality and plumbing courses, and will also make the commodity available to residents nearing the institution.