CS Wahome inspects water projects in Kilifi

The national government is putting up multibillion-shilling water infrastructure in Kilifi county. 

They include the Sh1.9 billion Baricho Two water pipeline with a storage capacity of 5,000 cubic metres at Kakuyuni and walls and gabions around the eight boreholes of Baricho that supply Kilifi and Mombasa.

The projects are expected to alleviate water shortage in Kilifi.

Water and Irrigation CS Alice Wahome toured the projects and expressed optimism that soon there will be a major transformation in terms of water supply.

The CS said she will push for the reduction or waiver of tariffs charged to water companies to reduce disconnections by Kenya Power.

Around Sh45 million is spent on pumping water at Baricho every month.

“What we have done is probably 30 per cent of what these people need. We will need more resources for Kilifi as we need for other counties but obviously Kilifi is one of the counties that we need to prioritise in terms of drought-resilience programmes and emergencies. We don’t want to forever remain under emergency programmes," Wahome said.

She said Baricho station was expensive to run as the water being pumped, more than 100,000 cubic metres, was a lot and the electricity bill was high making it difficult for Coast Water Works Development Agency to pay promptly.

Wahome said solar energy was one option to consider to reduce the cost of electricity but in the short term, she will hold talks with the Energy CS to waive some of the power tariffs.

Engineer Martin Tsuma, the agency's acting CEO, said the Baricho Kakuyuni pipeline and water pumping station will cost Sh 1.99 billion.

“It [consists of] a pumping station, a transmission line [that's] 29 kilometres [long with a] diameter of 800 millimetres and storage of 5,000 cubic metres," he said.

Tsuma said the protection works to safeguard the wells from flooding cost Sh791 million.

The CS was accompanied by Governor Gideon Mung’aro, Malindi MP Amina Mnyazi and Ganze MP Kenneth Kazungu.

Mung’aro said other projects are going on at Gongoni Marereni in Magarini funded by the Water Sector Trust Fund.

“As a county, we are doing two tanks of 5 million litres; one at Buni in Rabai, which will start sometime in June, and another one at Mtepeni,” he said.

Mung'aro said they are targeting 5 million storage tanks in every subcounty.

Malindi MP Amina Mnyazi urged the national government to revive the Kavinyalalo integrated irrigation scheme.

She said lack of water had become a major problem as people go for three to four days without water, a challenge they hope will be addressed by the Baricho Two pipeline.

The World Bank-funded project is being implemented by Coast Water Works Development Agency and constructed by China Railway No.10 Engineering Group Company.

Li Jie Yang from China Railways said the project is 90 percent complete. 

Edited by Josephine M. Mayuya