BY RITA MUTHONI
The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) has recommended solar power as an alternative energy solution for community water project developments.
Speaking in Embu after inspecting various community water projects financed by the Authority, DMA CEO Col (Rtd) Hareed Adan Hassan said moving forward, the authority will push funding towards solar-powered projects, citing their economic and sustainable advantages.
“From now on, all water projects that will be funded will be solar-powered. All boreholes that were previously pumped using main power and generator sets will be converted to more affordable solar power, ” Hassan said.
At the Karurumo Health Centre where NDMA helped rehabilitate a borehole and install a solar pumping system, the CEO acknowledged that the water supplied since last year had allowed the facility to operate at full capacity.
Purity Ireri, the officer in charge of the facility said the water project helped the facility to extend clean water supply to the community through a kiosk.
Ms Ireri said by supplying clean water, the facility had recorded a substantial decrease in patients diagnosed with waterborne diseases.
Facility Management Committee Chairman Joseph Njeru Njagi said the five shillings they charge for a 20-liter Jerrican were used for project maintenance.
At the Kamarandi CBO Irrigation Project in Mbeere North, beneficiaries of a 100,000-litre masonry tank reported that the project had enabled them to regulate water flow to allow all 124 beneficiaries to get adequate water.
Project Chair Joseph Kang’ata Musyoki said before the installation of the tank, the water supply in the area was irregular causing crop failure regularly.
He said now the beneficiaries grow enough food for their families and sell the surplus to the market.
Musyoki added that they were pursuing further assistance to expand supply lines and water tanks to reach more farmers.
“We are also seeking help to acquire more efficient irrigation technologies such as drip systems to improve the water use,” he said.
NDMA has also supplied local schools with fruit and tree seedlings through the authority’s tree-growing campaign.
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