Nakuru water firm drills borehole in Njoro
Nakuru Rural Water and Sanitation Company Managing Director Reuben Korir. He announced on August 8, 2019 that Kiamunyi residents will be supplied with water by December. PHOTO | FRANCIS MUREITHI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Initially, Kimunyi was served by an old line from Gilgil but the water has continued to reduce due to increased usage along the pipeline.
- The company has spent Sh5 million on the purchase and installation of equipment.
The perennial water shortage that has gripped Kiamunyi area on the outskirts of Nakuru town may come to an end by December.
Nakuru Rural Water and Sanitation Company (Naruwasco) has drilled a borehole in Njoro’s Kenyatta area.
“The borehole has a capacity to pump 30,000 litres of water per hour, this will go a long way to solve the perennial water problem in the area by more than 40 per cent,” said Mr Reuben Korir.
WATER TESTED
Initially, Kimunyi was served by an old line from Gilgil but the water has continued to reduce due to increased usage along the pipeline.
“The water has been tested and it is fit for human consumption. What is now remaining is to lay about 20 kilometres of pipeline from the borehole to the intended destination,” added Mr Korir.
Mr Korir said his company is looking for Sh20 million to lay the pipes.
He revealed that the company was in talks with the Rift Valley Water Service Board to fund the remaining part of the Kiamunyi project.
“It is our mandate to serve the people of Kiamunyi and others facing water shortage within our area of jurisdiction. We have stretched our funding to the limit but we hope the project will be ready by the end of the year,” said Mr Korir.
SPENT SH5 MILLION
He announced that so far, the company has spent Sh5 million on the purchase and installation of equipment.
“We have a massive tank at Mercy Njeri Primary School where the water will be pumped before it is distributed,” said Mr Korir.
He announced that the company is owed Sh160 million in unpaid arrears.
The demand for water is increasing by the day and currently, the company pumps the commodity within 12 hours instead of 24 hours.
“In 2016-2017, we were doing 11 hours of supply but we improved by an hour in 2018 – 2019. Our target is to supply above 16 hours,” added Mr Korir.
The company supplies its customers with 23 million litres of water daily against a demand of 46 million litres per day.
Its main sources of water are the 15 boreholes, rivers Turasha, Malewa and Nguso springs.
ILLEGAL CONNECTIONS
Mr Korir says that water firm faces challenges like underfunding, ageing infrastructure and illegal connections.
“The current infrastructure is old and some was abandoned with no rehabilitation and has affected the supply to our clients,” said Mr Korir.
However, he said with prudent management practices, water losses dropped from 67 per cent in 2016 to 58 per cent last year.
“By June 2019, our water loses were at 52 per cent and we hope to bring the losses down and serve more customers,” said Mr Korir.
He attributed the change to focus on metering and giving non-revenue water problem top priority.
