{"id":15951,"date":"2026-01-10T21:35:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T21:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/15951\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T21:35:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T21:35:17","slug":"sh800m-kamburu-water-project-to-provide-water-to-80000-residents-of-semi-arid-mbeere-south","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/15951\/","title":{"rendered":"Sh800m Kamburu water project to provide water to 80,000 residents of semi-arid Mbeere South"},"content":{"rendered":"

An aerial view on a treatment plant on the banks of Kamburu dam. The plant will process 10,000 cubic metres of water daily for supply to residents\/ ALICE WAITHERA<\/p>\n

More than 80,000 residents of the semi-arid Mbeere South in Embu
\ncounty are set to benefit from a Sh800 million water project, stemming
\nperennial\u00a0 shortages spanning decades.<\/p>\n

Kamburu Water Supply Project involves the channeling of
\nwater from Kamburu dam, establishing a treatment plant, storage and laying of
\n120 kilometres long of distribution lines, with the aim of resolving long-standing
\nwater scarcity in the area while supporting local agriculture.<\/p>\n

The project was launched by President William Ruto in April 2024
\nand construction works started in August. <\/p>\n

It will channel about 10,000 cubic metres of water daily to
\nhouseholds who have been forced to take long walks in search of water despite
\nliving near the Seven Folks dams.<\/p>\n

Dorcas Kithaka, a resident of Mavuria area, said the project
\nwill mostly reprieve women who are forced to use two hours everyday to fetch
\nwater from Kamburu dam using donkeys.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project will be a life-saver for us women. Without
\nwater, it becomes very difficult for women to tend to their families. It will
\nalso improve hygiene in our homes,\u201d Kithaka said.<\/p>\n

She pointed out that numerous residents have lost their
\nlimbs to hippos and crocodiles as they fetch water from the dam.<\/p>\n

Fredrick Thiga, another resident, said the human-wildlife
\nconflict in the area has been aggravated by lack of water that forces wild animals
\nout of Mwea Game Reserve.<\/p>\n

With the project, Thiga noted that they will be able to
\nimprove their farming activities and boost food security while raising their
\nincome.<\/p>\n

\u201cWater is life. There\u2019s nothing that can survive without it.
\nAs it is now, it\u2019s very difficult for us to farm or even keep livestock because
\nof lack of water,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Residents of Mbeere South using donkeys to fetch water \/ALICE WAITHERA<\/p>\n

The project\u2019s community liason officer Mwaniki Nyaga explained that the project is part of a larger Sh2.1 billion project that
\nwill draw water from three dams, Kamburu, Kiambere and Masinga, and supply
\nit to locals.<\/p>\n

Kamburu water supply project, he said, will address numerous
\nchallenges that residents have been facing, and drastically raise the economy
\nof the area.<\/p>\n

Learning institutions will also be heavily reprieved as they
\nare currently forced to use water bowsers to provide water to learners.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you go to the markets, you will see many water bowsers.
\nThey are there because they are the ones that provide water to schools. The
\nwater fetching costs in turn make learning operations very expensive,\u201d he
\nadded.<\/p>\n

In homes, Nyaga said improved hygiene will reduce the
\nprevalence of diseases and cut the number of people seeking health treatment in
\nlocal facilities.<\/p>\n

Residents will also be able to use the time they have been
\nusing in search of water to engage in other economically productive activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are also encouraging them to start kitchen gardens to
\nboost their families\u2019 nutrition and further improve their health,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Nyaga called on the government to ensure it\u2019s completed in
\nthe stipulated time saying the availability of the commodity will enable
\nresidents to better contribute to the economy.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An aerial view on a treatment plant on the banks of Kamburu dam. The plant will process 10,000…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15952,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[10353,10350,80,10351,10352,98,100,353,101,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-15951","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kenya","8":"tag-asal","9":"tag-kamburu-water-supply-project","10":"tag-kenya","11":"tag-mbeere-south","12":"tag-semi-arid","13":"tag-star-news","14":"tag-star-news-kenya","15":"tag-star-newspaper-kenya","16":"tag-the-star","17":"tag-the-star-newspaper"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}