Some 200,000 Jomvu residents will no longer suffer from water problems as a Sh400 million project at Alidina will increase supply to the area by 4,000 cubic metres daily.
Water CS Sicily Kariuki on Friday said the project is about 93 per cent complete and will take about four to six more months to begin serving residents.
“We have set a deadline of June next year to have water in people’s houses. However, we are going to push hard for the project to be completed earlier so people can have fresh water sooner,” Kariuki said.
She spoke after inspecting the progress of the project, among others at the Coast.
Jomvu MP Badi Twalib called on the CS to come up with temporary solutions to the water scarcity problem for the six more months that the residents will have to wait.
“Water needs will not wait for six more months. I would appreciate if the ministry can work on a way that my people can get fresh water before this project is completed,” Twalib said. The lawmaker has been a leader in the area since 2007, when he was first elected Jomvu Kuu councillor.
Twalib said it is ironic that water from Mzima springs in Taita Taveta county is collected at a reservoir at Jomvu before being distributed to other parts of the county but residents suffer from water scarcity.
He said residents in Bangladesh, Owino Uhuru, Ganahola, Miritini estate, Alidina, among others, get fresh water about once a week if they are lucky.
“I am glad that in a few months, this problem will be a thing of the past,” Twalib said.
The MP said the contractor, Danaff Kenya, is in talks with Mombasa Water and Sanitation Company over consumer connection.
“Danaff wants Mombasa Water to help do the metering so that consumers can have water in their homes,” the MP said.
About 4,000 new consumer connections will be made, according to the project engineers.
Twalib lauded efforts by the Mombasa Water and the Coast Water Works Development Agency to ensure residents get water despite all the challenges they experience.
CS Sicily said the Alidina project is part of many at the Coast that aim at alleviating the water scarcity problem and improve hygiene.
“We would like to reduce or eradicate the diseases we see that are brought about by lack of water,” the CS said.
She noted that social amenities including schools, hospitals and places of worship in the area will benefit from the project once completed.
However, she warned that usage must be efficient to curb wastage.
“The little water that is currently available must be used with the knowledge that it is an infinite resource,” the CS said.