The ongoing construction at the Tana River bridge has led to a disruption of the water supply to residents of Garissa town, with many settlements affected.
The disruption, which will last for three weeks, stems from the diversion of river water by the contractor to facilitate the building of bridge pillars.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Omar Abdullahi, the public relations officer at the Garissa Water and Sewerage Company, while acknowledging the disruptions, was however quick to add that the problem was not of their own making.
“On behalf of Gawasco, I want to apologise to our customers in Garissa town and its environs due to the inconvenience caused, which is as a result of the diversion of River Tana which has led to heavy silting at the main water intake point,” Abdullahi said.
He added: “The ongoing construction has severely affected the town’s water pumping operations and, as a result, automatically affected the supply of water.”
Affected areas include Garissa Town CBD, Garissa Ndogo, Bulla Adan, Bulla Skedeq, Bulla College, Garissa University and Bulla Hagar.
Mohamed Hussein, a resident of Bulla Adan, while welcoming the ongoing construction works at the bridge, regretted that it had led to the water shortage.
“The temporary water crisis has highlighted the need for better coordination between infrastructure development and essential public services. It cannot be that when a project of such magnitude is going on then it leads to inconveniencing the residents,” Hussein said.
Chris Kamau, an engineer at Gawasco, said the company is working with the contractor and the Kenya National Highways Authority to ensure normalcy returns as soon as possible.
Construction works will be hastened to ensure operations resume quickly, engineer John Waithaka, who is involved in the building of the bridge said.
The new Tana River Bridge is a major infrastructure project aimed at improving connectivity between Garissa and other regions in the northeastern corridor.
