The North Rift Water Works Development Authority (NRWWA) will construct a sewerage system in Iten at a cost of Sh900 million.
Speaking when the board led by the chairman David Chemweno paid a courtesy call to Elgeyo Marakwet County Governor Wisley Rotich in his office in Iten, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Edwin Rotich said the agency will also conduct a feasibility study for the construction of a further two sewerage systems in Kapsowar and Kapcherop towns.
“The construction of a new sewerage system of capacity 6,800m3/day in Iten town is top of our agenda. We are also looking into a possibility of doing sewerage systems in Kapcherop and Kapsowar towns while we have a number of projects lined up in Elgeyo Marakwet,” he said.
The move comes barely days just after the governor while commissioning a truck for garbage collection Monday, said although Iten town urgently required a sewerage system, the county did not have funds for the construction of the same and appealed for funding from partners.
The CEO said the agency is constructing water tanks, intake weirs, laying of pipes, drilling and equipping boreholes, construction of water storage tanks, water kiosks and water troughs in different parts of the county saying already five water projects have been completed with some having been commissioned, while others were just awaiting official handing over to the beneficiary communities.
Governor Rotich commended the agency for the implementation of the various projects in the county and called for more partnership saying the county was still facing a major challenge in the provision of water.
“We are grateful to the NRWWA for the completed and ongoing projects as this will see our people access clean and safe drinking water, while accessing the same for their livestock and irrigation. It will also result in improved sanitation and increase of livestock and agricultural productivity,” the governor said.
He urged the agency to ensure that the local community was actively engaged throughout the projects implementation to ensure that they own them and therefore continue sustaining the same, even after they are handed over.
Some of the projects being undertaken by the agency include Mogil Primary School borehole in Marakwet East Sub-county, which is going to benefit about 1,000 people, Embarar community water project in Marakwet West, which is intended to benefit about 3,000 beneficiaries, Rimoi Community Water project in Keiyo North and Chepsirei Community Water project in Keiyo South.
The agency is tasked to undertake the development, maintenance and management of water works within Turkana, West Pokot, Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet counties as they continue with projects inherited from Rift Valley Water Works Development Agency.
By Alice Wanjiru
