Water minister admits country lacks capacity to harvest, store commodity
If the current rains pounding many parts of the country came down again at the same period next year, it would still wash away, and leave a trail of destruction as is being witnessed now.
The situation would repeat itself as revelations emerged that 57 dams earmarked for construction to harvest rain water are less than 30 per cent complete.
Water Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui admitted on Monday that the same situation would recur because the country lacks the capacity to harvest and store rain water.
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He said the ministry is re-looking at the structural designs for a number of dams that were earmarked for rain water tapping and storage.
Poor foundation
They have a poor foundation; do not meet the required standards, and are likely to delay in completion. Ironically, construction for most of them started in 2016. Chelugui said the country may unfortunately not be able to tap the rain water.
“The collapse of the Solai dam in Nakuru last year sent us to the drawing board. We found that the dam broke its banks because of poor structural designs, and this has to be addressed,” he added.
Last year, he said, the ministry also looked at structural designs for some of the dams, and discovered hydrological designs and even feasibility studies were not done well.
