Water rationing in Thika town and its environs will be a thing of the past once a multi-million project to increase supply is complete.
Thika Water and Sewerage Company (Thiwasco) has received a Sh900 million grant from the World Bank to improve supply.
Thiwasco MD Moses Kinya on Thursday said the money will be used to put up a water intake and treatment plant.
He said that the Kariminu water intake and treatment plant at Mary Hill area will inject an additional 15,000 cubic metres of water per day into the system.
“Currently, the demand for water is at 46,000 cubic meters per day against the supply of 37,000 cubic metres. It has forced us to introduce rationing programmes. It will be a thing of the past once we complete the Kariminu project,” Kinya said.
He spoke during the company inaugural tree planting programme at Ngoingwa.
Kinya said design works were complete. The company was working on the tendering process.
The MD said the only hitch was the inability to buy a 2.5 acre land required for the project. Kinya asked the Kiambu county government to help.
Thika Township MCA Andrew Kimani said he will introduce a motion at the county assembly to compel the government to fund the purchase of the land.
“This project will end the suffering of our people who are often forced to go for days without water for domestic use. I will use the assembly to ensure the company gets enough funds to complete the project,” Kimani said.
Kinya said the company has injected Sh500,000 into the tree planting programme to increase forest cover for proper conservation of their water catchment area, the Aberderes.
He said that the company will mobilise stakeholders and collaborate with private partners and schools to plant one million trees in the next two years.
“Climate change is real. We have to conserve our water towers by planting more trees,” Kinya said.
Edited by P. Obuya
