Ndakaini dam safe despite spillover, says Governor Wa Iria
Murang’a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria (right) during a tour of Ndakaini dam on December 17, 2019. He assured residents living around the dam and those downstream that they will not be affected by the spill over of water following the ongoing heavy rains. PHOTO | NDUNG’U GACHANE | NATION MEDIA
What you need to know:
- Wa Iria has asked the Ministry of Water to explain why the water from the dam is going to waste.
- He says he will continue agitating for his people to benefit from the dam.
- NWSC says that for the water from Ndakaini dam to be useful to Nairobi residents, new water works need to be put in place.
Murang’a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria has assured residents living around Ndakaini dam and those downstream that they will not be affected by the spillover of water following the ongoing heavy rains.
The dam is full to its capacity.
Mr Wa Iria has also asked the Ministry of Water to explain why the water from the dam is going to waste while Murang’a people are having dry taps.
WATER RATIONING
The dam, which can hold 70 million cubic meters of water, has started overflowing but officials of the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NWSC) have insisted that city residents will continue experiencing rationing as the existing pipes can only pump 525,600 cubic meters per day. This is below the daily water demand by the city’s growing population.
NWSC said that for the water from Ndakaini dam to be useful to Nairobi residents, new water works need to be put in place to bridge the gap between demand and supply.
Water gushes out of an overflow pipe at Ndakaini dam on December 17, 2019. PHOTO | NDUNG’U GACHANE | NATION MEDIA
“Rationing of water is there to stay until new lines are built. The current demand is 790,000 cubic meters per day and it has been growing by nearly 20,000 cubic metres every year. The current lines were initially set to serve the city up to the year 2000 but the government has not upgraded the infrastructure to meet the rising demand,” NWSC officials told Governor Mwangi Wa Iria on Tuesday.
RIGHTS OF LOCALS
But the governor said that the Ministry of Water needs to explain why, despite the dam being full, the water is neither helping the people of Nairobi nor those of Murang’a.
He said he will continue agitating for his people to benefit from the dam.
“The dam is in Murang’a and water is going to waste. We have heard that there aren't enough pipes to distribute water to Nairobi and we wonder why the Ministry of Water can’t allow us connect our locals to the water. It’s unfortunate that even the neighbouring locals can’t benefit from the water while it is now going to waste,” Mr Wa Iria said.
He said the issue of Murang’a County benefiting from Ndakaini dam was the point of departure between him and the Ministry of Water officials.
Early this year, the governor started a campaign dubbed ''Our Water Our Oil''’ where he wanted Nairobi to cede a percentage of the revenue earned from the sale of water from Ndakaini.
