Nyeri residents facing imminent water shortage due to climate change

Thousands of Nyeri residents are in danger of facing water shortages following declining water levels in major rivers and streams due to climatic change.

The warning of a looming water crisis was issued by Nyeri water and sewerage company officials who have said that they are planning to build a reservoir along river Chania to cushion water shortage due to the slow drying up of river Chania.

Speaking during the honouring of their staff who excelled in WASCO games held recently in Kisumu, the company managing director Peter Kahuthu said that at the moment they are processing twenty million cubic litres of water to cater for residents.

“At the moment we are processing 20 million cubic litres of water to cater for our customers. However, with the increase of population, we anticipate that we will require in the excess of 30 million cubic meters, but water levels are continuing to reduce each day so we may in future start water rationing to cope,” Kahuthu said.

Kahuthu, however, said that they have plans of constructing a dam upstream preferably in Abadare to ensure water abundance.

The revelation by Kahuthu comes about 10 years after late Nobel prize winner Prof Wangari Mathai warned that water levels in many rivers and streams in the central region would decline to owe to declining ice on the peak of Mt Kenya.

Nyeri governor Mutahi Kahiga who was present pledged to support water companies in the county to face the challenge.

“As a government, we are aware that climatic change is affecting water levels and we will provide funds to mitigate this problem and ensure many do not suffer,” Kahiga stated.

Kahiga said that they have no plans of merging water companies under their jurisdiction adding that what they will do is to designate bulk water provision to NYEWASCO.