Mutomo town faces water scarcity

By Anne Musau

Water scarcity in Mutomo town has become a recurrent problem as water prices skyrocket each day. Despite the fact that there is a TanAthi Water Services Board water project in town, perennial drought has seen water supply become unreliable thus leaving town residents at the mercy of water vendors who exploit them.

Woman fetching water in a rock (Photo: Rhoda Musili/ALIN)

TanAthi Water services Board project was established in 2011 to serve Mutomo community. The water is drawn from three (3) boreholes in Ilusya from where it is pumped to a booster station at Ikanga trading Centre, 55 KM from Mutomo town. The boreholes have a combined yield of 60M3/h.

However due to persistent drought that hits Mutomo District from time to time, the project has not been able to sustain  water demands of the growing town. Long queues for water are a common sight in the town as residents strain to get access to this rare commodity. 

This inconsistency has left town residents at the mercy of water vendors who hawk the rare commodity at high prices. A spot check around Mutomo town shows vendors strategically placed at various points within the market where they sell this precious commodity to residents at hiked prices.

For instance a 20 Litre jerrican costs Kshs.2 at the water kiosk selling point but water vendors hawk the same quantity of water at prices ranging from Kshs.25-30.This price changes according to water availability at the selling point as well as the season. 

According to Mwikali Timothy, a vendor, they sometimes have to walk for long hours to search for water at water harvesting structures which are quite a distance from Mutomo town. “This is why we sell the commodity at high prices since it is our source of livelihood,” says Mwikali.