Marsabit's Funaan Idha dam full after heavy rains

After a string of dry years in Marsabit county, the Funaan Idha dam in Sololo Sub-county has started spilling over following the heavy rains that have been experienced in the areas.

The dam constructed in 2021 has a storage capacity of 84,000 cubic metres of water.

The  Sh60 million dam was commissioned by Governor Mohamud Ali early last year and it will address the problem of water shortage and lift the agricultural sector in the county.

The Funaan Idha Earth Dam and Auxiliary structure was funded by the County Government and the World Bank through the Smart Climate and Agriculture Project.

The county department of Agriculture led by CECM of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Hussein Ali Hussein, chief officers Agriculture Orge Gila Baji and two directors Wato Denge and Boru Jillo on Thursday visited the dam site.

Hussein said the area surrounding the dam has been receiving fluctuating levels of rainfall in the last few days causing the dam to fill up.

"Heavy rains have raised most of the dams in the county to full capacity. We have sufficient water in place for irrigation," Hussein said

Hussein said the dam has an emergency spillway should the water levels top its capacity.

"The volume of water is expected to rise. We hope it will not pose a flood threat downstream," he said

The executive said the county government has been implementing dozens of dams to manage water shortages.

He said the dam should solve the myriad food and water challenges which forced residents in the region to rely on relief food.

"Residents' long-held vision of ending the cycle of food shortages is coming to fruition and the water to be used for irrigation to achieve that dream," said Hussein.

"The sh 60 million dam project will enhance water availability and increase food security," he said

He cautioned residents against entering the dam site and urged them to be calm as the dam was built with a system that allows it to evacuate excess water back to the rivers feeding it.

Chief Officer Agriculture Orge Gila Baji said the dam will boost food production by supplying hundreds of acres of land with water for irrigation.

"The county government under the leadership of Governor Mohamud Ali has invested in the construction of a dam to attain a water storage capacity of appropriately 84,000 cubic meters for irrigation, domestic and livestock usage," she said.

She assured that farmers will be empowered with knowledge and skills through agricultural extension services, creating nutrition and hygiene awareness to improve health outcomes and training various groups.

"The idea of constructing the dam was to ensure farmers in the region use the drip irrigation technologies to ensure they produce sufficient food for consumption and sell the surplus," she said.

Orge said Governor Ali was focusing on increasing the productivity of the farmers through the use of smart agricultural technologies.

"Governor wants farmers in the region to get maximum productivity from the dam and build resilience to small farmers," she said.

Marsabit County Smart Climate Agriculture coordinator Wato Denge said careful measures have been taken to ensure that the homesteads around the dam would not be affected by flood.

"The dam has two spillways which enable the water to flow back to the river once it has reached its full capacity," said Wato.

He said the dam was built to support poverty-stricken communities to practice irrigation to improve food security.

"The dam is a vehicle to start another income-generating project, of course, determined by the community," he said

Community elder Qalicha Doyo said for the first time since its completion in early 2022, the Funaan Idha dam is spilling over.

He said the dam has reached its full capacity while water is flowing in.

Bonaya Jillo said that the community in the region are incredibly humbled by increasing water levels in the dam.

"People feel blessed and relieved. Farmers can use the water for irrigation. The issue of food insecurity in the area might be a thing of the past," he said