- According to the National Drought Management Authority, more than 150,000 people are in need of food relief in the region.
- NDMA says livestock keepers in lowlands have recorded poor cattle body condition as a result of minimal pasture and scarce drinking water.
Image: SOLOMON MUINGI
On a normal day, Jael Wakesho would be in her farm growing kales, cabbage and French beans for sale. Farming has been her main source of income for the last eight years.
But today (Monday), the mother of two has woken up early to get at least a barrel of water at a water point near her Werugha home. She is among hundreds of residents who depended on the historic Kisenyi dam water for irrigation and domestic use.
The dam, which was built in 1954, has since dried up due to the ravaging drought, exposing more than 15,000 residents to hunger and poverty.
“We usually drew water from the dam for irrigation and domestic use. Nobody ever thought that the ever swollen dam would one day dry up,” Wakesho said.
She said many farmers who depended on the dam for crop production are now counting losses after their crops withered.
Water levels in the dam occupying a 30-acre piece of land, she said, started sinking low in 2021, forcing tens of farmers to move closer to the areas initially occupied by the dam.
Farmers are now cultivating on the dried up dam bed, a factor that has also been attributed to the faster drying of the water reservoir.
The area is the leading producer of vegetables, avocado and macadamia nuts in the coastal region.
“This area is well known for producing high quality vegetables that are sold as far as Mombasa. It is devastating that we are unable to irrigate our farms,” Hezekiah Mwambi, another farmer, said.
The residents now want the government to fast track plans of rehabilitating the dam so as to enable them resume crop production.
Mwambi said the agricultural productive region has now been reduced to a shell of its former self, stressing on the need to rebuild the dam.
The region has experienced six consecutive failed seasons, exposing residents to acute hunger and loss of livestock.
Consequently, the prolonged drought has resulted in drying of key open water sources, posing a threat to livestock and residents.
Besides Kishenyi dam, other major water sources dying up due the effects of climate change are Kighombo dam, Mwatate earth dam and Voi River, among others.
All water catchments, seasonal rivers, pans and dams in lowland areas of Voi, Mwatate and Taita subcounties have also dried up.
According to the National Drought Management Authority, more than 150,000 people are in need of food relief in the region.
NDMA says livestock keepers in lowlands have recorded poor cattle body condition as a result of minimal pasture and scarce drinking water.
Residents are now depending solely on piped water supplied by the county’s water and sewerage company (Tavevo), which has also drastically reduced as a result of the ravaging drought.
The current water supply in the county stands at 15,000 cubic meters against a demand of 26,000 cubic meters per day, according to Tavevo.
The county government has so far partnered with the Water Trust Fund to initiate rehabilitation of Kishenyi dam.
The Sh85 million rehabilitation work will include desilting of the mega dam and restore its normal depth.
The county has entered into partnership with other partners, including the Kenya Red Cross Society, Wildlife Works, USAID and the Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations to rehabilitate other water sources in the region.
Some of the projects being funded by Kenya Red Cross Society water projects such as Kitondoni , Kidong-Mwangaza and Mwaroko.