SIRISIA, BUNGOMA COUNTY. Thousands of residents of Sirisia constituency in Bungoma county are faced with a dire shortage of water as the drought bites in many parts of the country.
Residents who spoke to the West Media in different parts of the constituency expressed their frustrations and challenges that they face on a daily basis in their search for clean water for drinking and other domestic use.
Most of them spoke while lining up on long queues at the few water points found in the area where they said they wake up at 4am to start the queue which can take them over five or six hours before they access the water because of the huge number of those seeking for the valuable commodity.
“We normally come at this water pump as early as 4am to queue for water and you can stay here even up to 10am or 11am before you get water as people are many who depend on this water pump that was put up to help the community here,” said Claire Wafula a resident of Matibo.
She said that some people are forced to bring their water containers in the evening so that by morning when the water is opened by the attendant they are among the first ones to get the water and save on the time they stay there.
“Due to the long queues and the time we spent here, some people are forced to bring their containers in the evening because this water is opened at 4am up to 10am then reopened at 2pm hence most of us do not do any other work but looking for water that is now very scarce,” she added.
They said that at times they go through hell trying to find water from another water point kilometres away whenever their water pump breaks down because the pump is depended on by over five villages from the area.
“Sometimes we get a lot of problems here when this pump breaks down because there is no any other water pump near here and that is why we are calling upon our MP John Waluke and governor Ken Lusaka to help us have a mortar that can make it easy for us to get water from underground because we have electricity here unlike us pumping manually,” said Oliver Sikolia of Matibo.
Elsewhere in the neighboring Toloso, Kolani, Butunde and Lukala areas the situation is worse because there they depend on water wells that dry up during such dry spells hence any remaining one serves thousands of residents who wake up at around 1am every day to line up for water that comes out in drops hence it takes time for one container to be filled.
In those areas there is no other work that women and some men can do daily other than looking for water for domestic use and for their livestock.
In Sirisia town that is the headquarter of Sirisia constituency the residents depend on piped water from neighboring Chesikaki water project in Mt. Elgon constituency but they complain that the water comes once in a week as others depend on water that flows out of water pipes damaged by the caterpillars constructing the road hence you find many of them in groups drawing the water from hanging pipes along the road with those who have piped water at their homes saying that the taps have been dry for a very long time.
“Here in Sirisia we only get water once in a week and it runs for a few hours and it dries up because there has been no proper plan to change the former water pipes that we got water from the initial water from Chesikaki to the new upgraded and expanded project that is being done by the Chinese at the same water point,” said John Simiyu at Sirisia town.
Others said that due to the inconsistency in the supply of water they therefore depend on a water project drilled by an individual by the name of Munoko that is reliable and does not dry up.
They also called upon their area MP Major Waluke to intervene and ensure that they have a reliable water supply bearing in mind that the MP is in a good working relationship with the county government under governor Ken Lusaka and the Jubilee national government under president Uhuru Kenyatta despite having been elected on an ODM ticket.
“We wonder when we here our Mheshimiwa speaking on some radio stations that in Sirisia there is plenty of water that is bursting the pipes but in really sense our women and children are suffering trying to get water for day-to-day use,” said Eric Wanjekeche.
In Lwandanyi, Korishandet and Lwakhakha border the residents walk for kilometres to the River Lwakhakha to draw water from the river for their daily use hence spend most of their time and money on water as compared to other activities of economic importance at their homes and business points.
Disease outbreak looming
Those who have money have to hire motorbikes to carry them the water on a daily basis, while those with bicycles tie several containers on their bicycles to get the water from the River that is also used for other activities hence there are high chances of getting disease outbreaks from the untreated water.
The river water from Lwakhakha is seen as unfit for consumption by the residents unless treated because at some points some residents bath from the river, wash clothes and other activities that are likely to compromise on the cleanliness of the water that has suddenly become the only source to thousands of residents.
The same is likely to happen in other parts of the constituency where one cannot hesitate to drink any water he or she comes across due to the high temperatures coming from the scorching sun that is causing havoc to many Kenyans.
It is now upon the county governments in conjunction with the national government through the ministry of water and irrigation services under cabinet secretary Eugene Wamalwa to come up with lasting water programs to Kenyans especially in Bungoma and other neighbouring counties that have water challenges.