An excess of 100,000 households are set to benefit from the national government emergency water extension programme.
The Sh500 million programme being implemented by the national government through Athi Water Works Development Agency is targeting densely populated and low-income areas in the county.
Speaking during an inspection tour of the projects, AWWDA CEO Michael Thuita said the project is currently 55 per cent done.
He added that once complete, the project will go a long way in improving the general well-being of Nakuru residents.
“Water is an important commodity in human life and the impact is going to be huge as we are going to reduce on the time lost by the community in fetching for water and that time can be used to do other economic activities," he said.
WATER DEMAND
The project will be launched in January 2022 and is expected to supply an additional 30,000 cubic meters per day to cushion the county from the ever-rising demand for water.
Naivasha sub-county will be the biggest beneficiary of the emergency extension program with 16 boreholes, which will be sunk across different schools, slums and health facilities.
One of the targeted areas in Naivasha is Kihoto slums which has a population of about 20,000 and has been faced with water and sanitation challenges.
“Our children have been affected by the water in this area. Most of them suffer from tooth decay and as such, they rarely even succeed in police recruitments because they are not strong enough and their teeth do not meet the required standards,” Kihoto sub-chief Philip Mariri said.
In June 2021, the Senate adopted a report tabled by the House Devolution Committee that recommended Nakuru Municipality to become the fourth city in Kenya.
Nakuru however, falls short of adequate daily water supply with the demand estimated to be at 70,000 cubic metres per day.
According to Nakuru Urban Water and Sanitation Company, the current supply stands at 40,000 cubic metres.
Edited by D Tarus