Sh500m water projects to boost climate resilience in Keiyo North

By Alice Wanjiru (KNA)

The Government has injected over Sh500 million into comprehensive water projects within Keiyo North Sub-County.

Through the Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA) the aim is to boost its climate resilience efforts.

KVDA Acting Managing Director, Moses Kipchumba, said the aim is to counter the harsh, escalating effects of climate change and provide lasting drought mitigation for local communities and represents a deliberate effort by the government to uplift grassroots livelihoods through the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).

These critical projects, he said, which primarily include strategic dams, water pans and boreholes, are purposefully designed to secure a reliable, year-round water supply which will safeguard the livelihoods of thousands of residents and their livestock, while simultaneously providing a steady source of water for irrigation schemes during prolonged dry spells.

While inspecting the ongoing construction of the second phase of the Etio dam, the MD revealed that the first phase of the dam, which cost Sh80 million, is already complete, adding that the authority is pushing for the completion of the Sh120-million second phase.

“Once fully operational, the dam's total water volume will surge to 200,000 cubic metres and will benefit 30,000 people stretching all the way from the highlands down to Biretwo in the arid Kerio Valley.

According to Kipchumba, this specific phase is focused on expanding actual household and agricultural access. 

"The project will include the construction of tanks, laying of pipes, and a solar system for pumping the water," he noted.

To complement this, he said, KVDA has already constructed smaller water pans and boreholes that local communities are actively using for field irrigation.