Two new dams to end water woes for thousands in Tana River County

HUSSEIN ABDULLAHI -KNA

For decades, residents of the remote interior of Tana River County have lived with a harsh reality.

Every dry season, fami lies walked for kilometres in search of water, children missed school, livestock perished, and conflicts over scarce water sources became inevitable.

That cycle may finally be coming to an end in parts of the vast Tana River County, which has historically expe rienced resource-based tensions between nomadic pastoralist communities and sedentary farmers over access to dwindling water sources and grazing land.

Observers note that climate change and prolonged drought have significantly worsened these seasonal disputes, fuelling recurring cycles of violence.

The national government has completed two earth-fill dams worth nearly Sh190 million in Tana North and Bangale sub-counties, a major invest ment expected to transform the livelihoods of thousands of pastoralists in one of Kenya’s most drought-prone regions.

Constructed under the Drought Mitigation and Flood Control Programme through the Coast Development Authority (CDA), the Miidi and Hambaresa earth fill dams each have a storage capacity of 100,000 cubic metres. 

The projects are designed to improve access to water, strengthen climate resilience, and enhance food and nutrition security in vulnerable communities that have long struggled with recurring drought.

Speaking during the commis sioning of the projects, Cabinet Secretary for East African Community Affairs, Arid and Semi-Arid (ASALs) and Regional Development Beatrice Askul Moe described the dams as proof that government investments are reaching the country’s most marginalized communities.

“What I’ve come to witness is value for money. The services are reaching the most vulnerable and communities, especially pastoralists who depend on livestock for their upkeep.

Seeing such an investment in the heart of Tana River shows that government development is reaching the people who need it most,” she said.

Moe said the projects in underserved communities would spare families from the hardships that have forced pastoralists to migrate in search of water and pasture.

She said during periods of drought pastoralists are forced to walk longer distances in search of water and pasture.

Tana River County Commis sioner, Joseph Mwangi, said projects in the area will not only solve the water challenge for the livestock, but will now help the pastoralists to also think about irrigated farming.