Three wards in Embu have suffered water shortage for two months, which the county assembly blames on failure of the executive.
Residents of Kyieni North, Kyieni South and Kagaari South do not have water.
Governor Martin Wambora last week fired Water executive Patrick Waganagwa over the crisis.
The county assembly’s Water and Irrigation committee says the executive has contributed to the water woes in the three wards.
Committee chairman Nathan Mwari said on Wednesday the executive has seriously interfered with the management of water companies in the county by imposing officials on them against the regulations.
Mwari said the executive removed Kyieni Water and Sanitation Water Company’s (KEWASCO) management and replaced it with a caretaker team, sparking a crisis in water supply.
Mwari said his committee summoned Waganagwa to explain the crisis but he snubbed them. The committee presented a report with recommendations on how to solve the water problem but it was ignored.
He called on the newly appointed executive Njiru Mbogo to end interference with the water company and let directors be independently elected according to the Water and Sanitation Regulatory Board (WASLEB) guidelines.
“According to our investigation, the water company had already followed the procedure of coming up with the new directors but the county government through the Department of Water refused to adopt the measures and brought in their own directors and confirmed them,” Mwari said.
The county government has set aside Sh58 million for a piped water project in collaboration with KenGen to supply residents living near the Seven Forks hydropower dams in Embu.
The project follows intense pressure from the residents who staged demonstrations including storming the governor’s office with empty jerry cans.
Residents neighbouring the dams have suffered for many years losing their relatives to crocodiles while fetching water.
