The national government will spend Sh1 billion in Tana River county to implement water projects and supply fresh water to all villages in the three sub-counties.
The project which is at an advanced stage is aimed at drilling boreholes, piping water to villages, and ensuring the community has access to piped water.
Water principal secretary Joseph Irungu said the plan is to ensure each village has access to freshwater.
Speaking during the beginning of a two-day tour of the county to inspect the projects, he said each of the projects cost Sh10 million and expressed satisfaction in the manner in which the work was done.
Irungu said the projects were being implemented by the Coast Water Works Development Agency and will be a game-changer to the problems of water accessibility in the county.
The PS was accompanied by top officials from the Coast Water works Development Agency led by chairman Omar Boga.
Irungu said the biggest challenge in Tana River county is water and assured residents of the government's commitment to addressing the problem.
“At times when people hear of Tana River, they think the river supplies water to the people but as you have seen and having lived here the river has dirty water even when we decide to clean the water with chemicals at times it cannot fulfill the needs of the residents for consumption. It can be used for farming but not for personal use,” he said.
During the tour the PS visited Oda, Mandingo, and Kipao boreholes which were built at a cost of Sh10 million each and are complete.
