Construction of the Karimenu II dam in Kenya is set to be completed in May this year. The Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation gave the update and said the project is 76% complete.
The project which is being implemented by the Athi Water Works Development Agency (AWWDA) and funded the Kenyan government, was launched three years ago. According to the Chief Administrative Secretary of the department, Andrew Tuimur, so far seven key milestones have been achieved, including tunnel breakthrough, completion of the secondary tunnel lining, detour of the Athi River, substantial completion of the dam’s foundation treatment work, and pipe laying.
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Benefit
The Karimenu II dam will be 59 m high. The raw water retained by the building, 26.5 million m3, will be treated in a new plant. The plant will have a daily production capacity of 70,000 m3. AWWDA will also lay 67 km of pipelines at Karimenu II for the transport of raw water and drinking water. The project will also construct two concrete reservoirs. The future facilities will have capacities of 235,000 m3 and 50,000 m3 respectively.
Upon completion, the project which will benefit approximately one million people in the towns of Ruiru, Juja, Gatundu and Nairobi. In Gatundu, one of the beneficiary towns of the drinking water project, a drinking water supply system (DWSS) will be built at the same time. The water supply system will consist of 15 boreholes and 280 km of pipelines. This sub-county is hit hard by the drought that causes water stress and degradation of agricultural land.
Through the multiplication of drinking water supply projects, the government is aiming for universal drinking water coverage by 2030. By 2021, the East African country will have a water access rate of nearly 70%, according to Kenya’s Minister of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, Sicily Kariuki.
