The national water harvesting authority has handed over the Sh88 million Napuu project to serve 12,000 Lodwar residents with clean, piped water.
In September 2019, Turkana county contracted the National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority to implement the piped water project at Napuu water aquifer.
Parched Turkana has been struggling with drought and getting clean water is a challenge.
Turkana has underground water aquifers at Lotikipi Plains and Napuu in Turkana West and Turkana Central, respectively. Most of the county depends on borehole water.
Turkana Deputy Governor Peter Lotethiro said the project has been well constructed.
Lotethiro said the project was delayed by Covid-19. It was completed in two and a half years.
“We have assessed the water project and seen it's okay. It will reduce struggles to find clean water," he said.
An elevated 3,000-litre steel tank in Narewa,will supply water to Narewa, Lokitela, Ekaales, Masewan, Kasarani, Juluk and Trans Africa villages.
It will also supply Turkana University College and Kanamkemer Subcounty Hospital.
Other areas still haven't received water, such as Narewa B and other areas but the government is working to ensure they get water.
Turkana chief officer for water Moses Natome said there is a borehole that can get 140 cubic metres from the aquifer. The county also has a six-inch pipeline that draws 1,000 litres per hour and fills the elevated tank.
Andrew Ikenye, the chairman of the national water harvesting authority, said his agency has been working on the project since 2019 but Covid-10 delayed the work.
“We are very happy to hand over the water project to Turkana county for residents to access clean water without struggling and trekking many kilometres," Ikenye said.
In May 2020, Napuu residents protested over the delayed works. The project was launched in September 2019 and was to have been completed in months.
Deputy Governor Lotethiro gave the county water department and the contractor of the Napuu Water project one week to come up with a solution to end the delay.
“We are at pains to explain to the public why the project is not complete and why they have no water, months after the launch. The National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority chairman gave us a time frame and we announced to the people who are now blaming us,” Lotethiro said.
(Edited by V. Graham)
