The Sh791 million Baricho boreholes project that supplies water to Kilifi and Mombasa counties is 38 per cent complete.
Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Water and Sanitation Dr Andrew Tuimur said the project to protect the boreholes from floods linked to climate change will be complete in November this year.
Dr Tuimur said the 11 boreholes was one of the biggest sources of water at the Coast supplying over 90, 000 cubic meters a day.
He noted that despite delays of materials occasioned by the outbreak of Covid-19 which affected the supply from China, the government has asked the contractor, China Railway No 10 Engineering Group, to fast track the project.
Dr Tuimur said currently the ministry was undertaking 695 water projects across the country to bolster water supply.
The Baricho Intake Works is a Pumping System involving abstraction of groundwater from 8 Boreholes at Baricho, disinfection of water and pumping water to Mombasa, Malindi and Kilifi using High Lift Pumps.
The capacity of the 8 Boreholes is 90,000 m3/d. At present, only 70,000 m3/d production is achieved.
The well, which is located downstream of the Sabaki River at Lango Baya, accounts for approximately 64 per cent of the total water produced by the Coast Water Works Development Agency.
The wells were developed in 1990 as an alternative to surface water which was being abstracted directly from River Sabaki.
Unlike surface water that requires immense chemical treatment to make it safe for human use, ground water requires minimal chemical treatment.
Before water is pumped to houses for domestic use it has to be tested for acidity, composition of dissolved mineral salts and residual chlorine.
Water is then transmitted to chlorine dosing tanks to be treated for any existing bacteria or virus and for onward storage tanks which have a capacity of five million litres.
By Mohamed Hassan
