The national government has started drilling a Sh10 million borehole at Kachien in Kasipul constituency to provide residents with clean water.
The Kamiera Water Project is aimed at supplying the commodity to more than 1,000 families in the constituency.
Speaking when he commissioned the drilling on Saturday, area MP Ong’ondo Were said the project would help residents to access clean and safe water.
The project is undertaken by Lake Victoria South Water Works Agency.
Were said the project is funded by the national government through the Ministry of Water and Sanitation.
“The project will help us do away with perennial water shortage that has become normal to residents of this area,” Were said.
The MP said most people in the area depend on untreated water drawn from rivers.
He said the water would be supplied to residents in Masaka, Ogango and Kawere areas.
The contractor is expected to build water points in the areas for residents to draw the commodity to minimise the distance covered in search of water.
“Let residents engage in other meaningful economic activities to improve their livelihoods. Many will no longer concentrate on looking for water in far places,” the MP said.
Project engineer Claudius Oduor said they will start supplying the water in three months. He said they will pump 3,000 liters of water per hour.
“Drilling of the borehole will take four days and other physical infrastructure will then be completed before we start supplying water to residents,” Oduor said.
Residents Rose Atieno and Joseph Omuom said accessing clean water in the area had been a problem to many of them.
Atieno,63, said many women spent their productive time in looking for water.
“We’re very happy for this initiative because many of us have been walking for over five kilometers to look for water,” Atieno said.
Omuom said most of them had suffered from waterborne diseases due to untreated water they use.
Edited by Henry Makori
