Water cut off raises fear of cholera outbreak

Water supply in Migori County has been interrupted for the second time due to unpaid power bills.

Kenya Power engineers disconnected electricity at the main pumping stations over a Sh2 million bill.

The firm said they will only reconnect the power after the bill is cleared by the county administration.

Consequently, residents of Migori Town and its environs will now rely on water from the polluted sources such as rivers and streams.

Migori Water Company Managing Director Peter Pesa confirmed the disconnection.

“It's true we have electricity bills which have not paid, but we are trying to settle it immediately so that consumers do not suffer a lot,” he said.

In July this year, Kenya Power disconnected the same line over a bill of Sh2.6 million and supply resumed after one month.

“We are under strict instructions from our bosses not to reconnect electricity to the pumping station unless all the arrears are paid,” said a Migori Kenya Power employee who sought anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

Migori taps will now remain dry, with fears of fresh cholera outbreak gripping the residents.

“We are sitting on a time bomb that might explode anytime…and this dry spell has made a bad situation worse,” said Mr Abdi Mohammed, a hotelier.

Health workers expressed hope that the bill will be cleared immediately “before we start dealing with cholera explosions”.

“This region is very prone to cholera and this water scarcity is a good catalyst for the outbreak. We hope that something is done soonest,” said a senior staff at the Migori County Referral hospital.

Hotels, schools and hospitals are the worst affected by the problem, forcing the institutions to depend on hawked water, which is now expensive due to the high demand.

Edited by Philip Momanyi