Murang’a water tunnel raises questions which need answers
What you need to know:
- Athi Water board claims it engaged with the technical team to study the environmental impacts to reach a compromise, which required carrying out modifications on the original design.
- Murang'a Senator Kembi Gitura has been critical of the government-backed project long before Raila Odinga entered the fray.
- The national government says Sh4.1 billion has been set aside for county water projects, supposedly inclusive of a dam in Maragwa from where treated water will be piped to residents of the drier parts of lower Murang’a.
When Raila Odinga touches on any topic, the reaction from Central Kenya is predictably spiteful. Not quite so when he waded into the matter of the encroachment of the Aberdare water catchment range and the likely effects for Murang’a county residents and users downstream.
He fuelled a controversy that had been simmering for months between county leaders and the Athi Water Services Board. Most county residents hadn’t even known of the feud.
Governor Mwangi wa Iria’s response was typical, dismissing Raila as a political meddler and expressing his fulsome support for the Sh6.8 billion World Bank-funded project to dig a tunnel from the catchment to supply water to Nairobi.
Was the governor misreading the mood in his county? Senator Kembi Gitura has been critical of the government-backed project long before Raila entered the fray.
He repeated his criticism of the project on technical and environmental grounds, and reopened the burning issue of whether there was adequate public participation in the conceptualisation and implementation of the project.
I am hesitant to go overboard on this matter until I learn more from the experts. What am hearing is that the County Assembly had put together a technical team to study the environmental impacts.
According to the senator, its conclusions were negative. Athi Water board claims it subsequently engaged with this team to reach a compromise, which required carrying out modifications on the original design. Why — oddly — the Environmental Impact Assessment report from Nema came after the project had been launched needs better explaining.
Okay, the Athi Water board argument is that only “excess” floodwater will be diverted to the tunnel. But what exactly is “excess”? I know River Maragwa firsthand and I can attest to the fact that over the years the flow, even without tunnels, has greatly diminished even during flood seasons due to intensive local land use and the proliferation of private water pumps along the river.
TWO FLOOD SEASONS
Normally the region has two flood seasons a year, coinciding with the long and short rains. Is the Athi Water board saying they will be opening their tunnel only during the flood months?
Or will the water diversion be happening all the year round? This point needs clarity. It is inaccurate to say all the floodwater is wasted by ending up in the ocean. Downstream irrigation and hydropower dams lap up quite a bit of it.
By the way, isn’t the Galana irrigation scheme the government is putting up in Tana River county dependent on this “excess” water?
Most Murang’a residents are not privy to any information about this tunnel even as the government and Athi Water board insist that there was public input before the digging started.
What was the extent of this public participation beside the seminars held for a handful of county officials and powerbrokers with no clue what hydrology means?
Were independent engineers from the county consulted? And why are the county MPs dithering?
The county government shares a big part of the blame. Have they been upfront in informing the public on what local experts think?
When Senator Gitura complained of a “propaganda blitz” on vernacular radio unleashed by the Athi Water board, what was the county government’s counter to it? It transpires the county leadership had met at Kenol town early this year to agree on a common approach toward the Athi Water board.
What was the follow-up? Even if the project is above board, lack of full public disclosure from the very beginning was inexcusable.
The biggest beef the residents have is what is there for them from this project. The national government says Sh4.1 billion has been set aside for county water projects, supposedly inclusive of a dam in Maragwa from where treated water will be piped to residents of the drier parts of lower Murang’a.
Are these projects being worked on simultaneously with the tunnel?
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