Water firm warns Thika  of impending rationing

A water provider has warned over 300,000 residents of Thika in Kiambu County to brace for hard times as a water crisis precipitated by drying up of major rivers and boreholes rages.

The situation has been attributed to the drying up of the rivers due to irrigation activities upstream, where large-scale farmers have obstructed the rivers, channeling the waters to their farms.

Thika Water and Sewerage Company (Thiwasco) Managing Director Moses Kinya said the company has been forced to ration supply of the precious commodity and asked consumers to use it sparingly. 

“While agricultural activities are key in safeguarding the country’s food security, irrigation of crops using river water is not a priority for now as most water users downstream can no longer find enough for domestic use,” said Kinya.

Through the Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA) the water company is in talks with the irrigation farms to stop the obstruction of rivers.

Irrigation farms

“We are liaising with upstream water users to ensure there is compensation flow downstream and water resource authority which has been helping us in stopping abstraction especially by huge firms that use river water for irrigation,” stated Kinya.

 He went on; “The situation in most of our rivers downstream is dire. Residents can no longer access water because the rivers have been obstructed by some people to irrigate their farms. This will not be entertained and we ask that they allow water to flow freely,” said Kinya.

The MD, accompanied by Thiwasco Chairman Mukora Wakimani, was speaking during the handing over of a classroom built by the company at Gatuanyaga primary school at a cost of Sh 1.5 million. 

 “Whereas the company is trying hard to continue supplying enough water for use to the over 300,000 residents in Thika and the environs, only sufficient rain will satisfactorily fill the widening gap,” stressed.

 Kinya also announced that the firm has come up with both temporary and long-term solutions to water scarcity in the town that has been touted to acquire city status.

 Among the interventions is distribution of water tanks across all wards which are filled using water bowsers for use by residents, besides establishment of water points across the town. The most affected areas are Gatuanyaga, Munyu and Komo villages in the semi-arid Thika East region.

 He said through their long-term project of tapping into the Karimenu 2 Dam that was completed last year, they will be able to arrest the perennial acute water shortage and rationing programmes in the area.

 The Sh24 billion dam, one of the government’s flagship projects in the Gatundu North Sub County will also supply water to Juja, Ruiru, Nairobi and Thika. It will produce 70,000 cubic metres of water daily.

 Thiwasco’s normal water production capacity is 36,000 cubic meters against a demand of about 60,000 cubic metres.

Project expansion

 Further, the planned expansion through a Sh11 billion water and sewerage project funded by the World Bank and Danish International Development Agency (Danida) is expected to boost supply.

 The project which will encompass construction of two 10m high reservoirs on the Chania River and at the Thika River are hoped to improve access to safe water and sanitation in the town until 2042 and is estimated to provide 36,000 m3 of water per day.

 Thika District Business Association (TDBA) chairperson Alfred Wanyoike urged the company to fast-track completion of key projects ahead of plans to make Thika a city.

“We are happy with what Thiwasco is doing but we still feel more needs to be done especially now that we have started the journey to becoming a city. The water firm needs to complete all the pending projects to help us have enough storage capacity to feed a city, industries therein and residents,” said Wanyoike.

On his part, Mukora said the company will continue assessing the needs in the Thika community and provide the necessary support where possible.

This includes construction of classrooms and provision of computers and other learning materials to public schools as well as planting trees to preserve the environment.