Water volume at Ndakaini Dam has remained low despite some parts of the country continuing to receive substantial rains.
The low water volume in the dam may cause water rationing in areas which are served by the reservoir during early months of next year.
By Tuesday the water capacity in the dam located in Gatanga Sub county of Murang’a and which is the main source of water supplied to Nairobi City County was at 69 per cent.
Murang’a County Director of Meteorology Paul Murage has said the ongoing short rains have been below average expressing fears that the dam may not attain full capacity by the end of the season.
Upper zones of Murang’a County, Murage noted, usually receive a lot of rain but since this season started, the zones have recorded less than 30 millimeters of rainfall.
He added that the rivers which drain water to the dam have low water levels, thus the failure of the dam to attain its full capacity by the end of this month.
“Meteorological department earlier predicted below average and poorly distributed rainfall during this season. The ongoing rains are expected to reduce before December 25 and we fear the dam may not get filled,” observed the director.
He observed that before the next rain season, people served by the dam may be subjected to rationing urging various stakeholders to encourage people to harvest rain water during the remaining rain-days.
“People should embrace harvesting of rain water. Before Christmas, some parts of the country will continue to have rains and it’s my appeal for people to harvest water and store it for the future.
January and February will be dry months and only a few places will have light showers thus scarcity of water in many parts of the country,” added Murage.
Currently, the director said rivers in Murang’a have low volumes of water, something which may negatively affect irrigation farming in lower parts of the county.
“Water levels in many of the rivers in the county have remained low. This may worsen in January and February when there will be no rains. Residents need to plan well now especially on issues like fodder as there will be scarcity of pasture in early months of next year,” he further noted.
By Bernard Munyao
