Marsabit welcomes dam, but wonders if water will ever fill it

A first-time visitor to Marsabit town might be surprised at the frequent sight of large numbers of teenagers — especially girls — crowding around a water tap with jerricans.

Many others can be seen milling around water bowsers, struggling to fill their containers with water.

And most of these children have abandoned school to help their parents fetch water for domestic use and for livestock.

So the residents were pleasantly surprised to see a fleet of earth movers and other machinery enter the northern Kenya town a few months ago on their way to Badasa area of Mt Marsabit to start building a Sh2.39 billion dam. They cannot wait to see the reservoir completed and filled with water.

Ending the water problem in the town, residents have argued, would not only put a stop to the high drop out rate in schools but would also attract investors.

Many investors, especially in the hotel industry, have shunned the town because of lack of water.

Marsabit has several tourist attractions, including a variety of wildlife at the Marsabit National Park.

Despite the potential for tourism, there is not a single luxury hotel where tourists or dignitaries can stay while visiting the area.

Marsabit Lodge, which is at the heart of Mt Marsabit, is run down because of poor business. The challenge in running the hotel has been security and scarcity of water.

And so visitors to the area have to use air transport because they have to go back the same day.

But with availability of clean water and a good sewerage system, investors are expected to flock to the area, thus improving the town.

However, some of the residents have expressed reservations about whether the Badasa/Songa Dam, expected to be complete by the end of next year, will ever be filled with water.

Permanent river

Although the area is mountainous and has a thick indigenous forest, Mt Marsabit has no permanent river. The rains in the past few years have not been adequate for the area surrounded by desert. 

During the drought last year, all the springs and other water sources dried up.