Kimugu drinking water plant in Kenya inaugurated

The government of Kenya inaugurated the new Kimugu drinking water supply project in Kericho County.

The project was initiated in 2019 and was aimed at improving the supply of drinking water in Kimugu. With an investment of US $8.46M, the project included construction of three reservoirs. Two of these have capacities of 5,000 cubic meters and 1,000 cubic meters, respectively, to store treated water for distribution.

A drinking water treatment plant with a capacity of 13,000 cubic meters per day was set up and is responsible for treating raw water from the Kimugu River through an intake facility. The completion of this project is expected to benefit over 200,000 people living in the towns of Kericho, Kapsuser, and Kapsoit, as well as the surrounding areas, until 2030.

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Kimugu drinking water supply

The distribution of the drinking water will be handled by the Kericho Water and Sanitation Company (KEWASCO), the organization responsible for managing water and sanitation in Kericho County.

In addition to serving the immediate areas, an additional 50 km of pipeline has been installed to carry some of the water to the districts of Belgut, Kipkelion East, and Ainamoi in Kenya. The project received support from the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the German development agency, as well as the Kenyan central government.

Despite facing anti-government protests led by the Azimio political alliance, headed by Raila Odinga, the inauguration of the water infrastructure took place on the scheduled date, with Kenyan President William Ruto presiding over the event.

The entire initiative is part of the Lake Victoria South Water Supply and Sanitation Development Programme (WSDP-LVS), which is being implemented by the Kenyan Ministry of Environment, Water, and Natural Resources.