Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi grapple with water shortage

Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi counties are facing a water crisis.

A supply deficit of 152 million litres of water a day to more than a million consumers of Mombasa County has presented a constant headache, Governor Hassan Joho said.

He attributed the water shortage to the county’s lack of fresh water sources forcing it to depend on piped water supply from neighbouring Kilifi, Kwale and Taita-Taveta counties.

Mombasa receives only 48 million litres of water a day from its neighbours against a demand of 200 million litres, he said on Sunday.

The piped water is supplied in bulk by Coast Water Services Board to Mombasa Water Supply and Sanitation Company, which then distributes the commodity to residents.

To address the crisis, Mr Joho said the county was banking on the construction of Sh20 billion Mwache dam in Kwale.

In December last year, the governor and Water Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa signed a water purchase agreement that will see the World Bank fund the Mwache dam multi-purpose project.

The project, expected to be completed in three years, will supply 186 million litres of water a day to Mombasa and Kwale counties.

The county is also working towards establishing desalination water plants to purify seawater in an effort to avoid over-reliance on supply from neighbouring counties.

The county targets to desalinate 100 million litres of seawater a day.

Last week, Changamwe MP Omar Mwinyi said: “I want the governor to visit Changamwe and see for himself how people are suffering.”

Also, Kisauni MP Rashid Bedzimba blamed the county’s water department officials for the shortage and urged Mr Joho to reshuffle them.

“We wonder where the water vendors get water while residents are frequently hit by dry taps,” he said.

ENDEMIC PROBLEM
Meanwhile, Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya has faulted the decision by Kenya Power to disconnect electricity supply to three water pumping stations over an outstanding debt of Sh2 million.

The debt was Sh7.5 million in total and the county government managed to pay Sh5.5 million with an agreement to clear the remaining amount after three months.

But the company did not abide by the agreement, disconnecting supply at Marere, Mzima springs and Tiwi pumping stations before the period was due, he said.

The situation has led to an acute water shortage in all major towns including Kwale, Kombani, Tiwi and Diani, forcing locals to walk long distances in search of the commodity.

In Kilifi, Bamba Town and its environs have been hit by acute water shortage for the last three weeks. The town borders Tsavo East National Park and has an estimated population of over 10,000 locals.

The situation has been worsened by the drying up of the only nearby Bimzhoga and Benesi water pans, and now residents have to trek for over 20km to Mwagunga.

Muthawali Nyuchi, a resident, said: “Every time we raise this issue, we are always told it is being addressed.”

Kilifi water executive Kiringi Mwachitu said the problem in Bamba was caused by ageing pipes from the main Ganze-Bamba waterline and Sh54 million had been allocated for the construction of a new one.