Prolonged acute water shortage at Gatundu South and North constituencies in Kiambu county has degenerated into a crisis that is now causing vandalism of existing water infrastructure as thirsty residents fight to quench their thirst.
Days after most water sources in the area dried up leaving local water service providers with nowhere to draw water for treatment and supply, residents today, February 17, 2023, ganged up and vandalized the Karimenu dam water pipeline that has been pumping the precious resource to Ruiru town and some parts of Nairobi county.
Irked by failed pumping of water into their taps, the charged locals disconnected the breather pipe at Ituuru village in Gatundu South before they queued and began fetching the scarce commodity.
Led by Veronica Mwangi, the locals took issue with elected leaders and water management in the area for failing to address the predicament at their homes, having stayed for months without supply.
While describing the breather as ‘miraculous Godly well’, the locals vowed to continue drawing water at the new source insisting that while they woke up early to vote for leaders they thought would better their lives, their social-economic status has remained the same – seven months under a new government.
They claimed that while Karimenu II dam water pipes pass along their farms, the water has only been benefitting Nairobi and Ruiru residents, a reason they vowed not to go silent but to use available resources, the legality of their ‘impunity’ notwithstanding.
“We are happy that God gave us a new well from which we will henceforth draw water. This pipeline breather is from Karimenu II dam in Gatundu North. We don’t care about the impact of our actions, what we want is water. Our leaders here have been taking us for granted and at some point lying on radio that the water issue has been sorted but the truth is that we have gone for months struggling to find water,” Mwangi told journalists.
“During campaigns, our leaders such as governor Kimani Wamatangi used to provide us with water using water bowsers but they no longer care how we stay, what we drink and how we survive without water. We want to remind them, we woke up to vote for them and we will still wake up to send them home,” Peris Wangui, a charged water user said.
As a result of water scarcity in Muiria, Thiririka, Handege, Ituuru and Gatundu Town areas, residents feared possible outbreak of waterborne diseases and urged the government to promptly intervene to address the crisis.
Currently, the locals lamented that water shortage could result in family breakups as men have been staying away from their wives over dirt.
“We are producing bad smells because we don’t wash our bodies often. This has made most women here start sleeping in the sitting room as men cannot accommodate us in beds,” Wangui added.
Besides the breather that is now at the centre of push and pull between locals, local authorities and water managers, locals have been travelling for over five kilometres to draw the available water from the few remaining sources.
Our tour at Muiria river in Gatundu South established that vehicles have been lining up to ferry the little available water as early as 8 am before the small stream also dries up.
Gatundu Water and Sewerage Company Managing Director Patrick Mwangi confirmed that most water sources in the area had dried up thereby plunging the company into serious challenges.
While condemning the destruction of water pipes by thirsty locals, Mwangi urged water users to exercise patience as the government works towards finding solutions to water shortages.
“We just witnessed that our sources have really dried up but we really condemn the people destroying our water pipes. We have them in plan and it’s only a matter of time before we get them connected and supplied with water. We also want our people to use water sparingly until the rains come,” Mwangi said.
Water crisis in the two constituencies has been precipitated by prolonged drought, failed rains that have seen most indigenous water sources dry up pointing to a major disaster that has painted a gloomy picture of desiccation and a vague future of food security.
Among the most hit rivers in Gatundu North and South are Rwabura, Theta, Muiria, Thiririka, Karimenu, Chania which originate from the Aberdare Forest and drool through the heart of Thika town among others.
Environmental degradation, poor human activities against the water bodies, massive pollution, human encroachment of wetlands and diversion of water for other uses such as agriculture have been blamed for drying up of the water ecosystems.
In Gatundu North constituency, the situation is the same with locals complaining that despite having ceded their land to allow construction of Ksh24 billion Karimenu II dam, water remains a scarce resource forcing them to walk kilometers away in search of the same.
