Kilifi Gets Desalination Plant
A desalination plant
Water sources have long been critically scarce in Kilifi , and the situation is getting beyond dire after Kilifi Mariakani Water and Sewerage company Limited [ KIMASCO ]announced a water rationing schedule this week , each area getting water a single day for the whole week.
Kilifi is now facing its fifth consecutive year of crippling drought, with water shortages spurring strict restrictions. Rising heat also means more water is needed to sustain people, ecosystems and the county’s thirsty agricultural sector. A new seawater desalination plant now is providing safe tap water to communities and schools that previously walked for longer distances for water.
Desalination plants, which convert seawater into potable water, have long been considered a possible solution.
Dama Khonde, resident of Vipingo ,says the plant has been a game changer for her since she no longer has to go looking for water for longer hours .
Dama is among those who receive safe drinking water at home.
“The water was so sweet, I could not believe it came from the sea!”
In January ,Centum Investment Company completed the construction of Sh500 million seawater desalination plant .It initially produce 1,500 cubic meters of safe drinking water a day, providing it to thousands of residents living within Kilifi south sub – county
Seawater desalination is one of the strategic options chosen by the Kilifi county government to help provide millions of thousands of residents including children with clean and safe drinking water.
To help conserve energy resources, about 12 percent of the plant’s peak energy requirement is currently met by solar panels. There are plans to harness the renewable energy potential to further increase this percentage.
Andrew Musangi, the director at Centum Investment Plc said that the project was also set to transform the investment environment in Kilifi County.
“This is part of a wider master plan and there is no master plan to attract investment in Kilifi that can survive without water security”
This is the heart of investment in the county. It is paying good dividends to the community, we are supplying several schools with water on the pipeline going towards Vipingo Ridge, and also residents, Musangi said.
The firm has drilled boreholes near the Indian Ocean and desalinate the sea water and supply to business people and residents within its reach,addressing the water shortage in the area.
”Kilifi borders the indian ocean and it is upon us to intelligently consider ways of sustainable drawing from our natural resources.To us, it is not the return on cash terms but there is a lot of return on terms of value that you can add to the community in this area.”.
Early this week, Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro visited the plant and promised to partner with private players in the water sector to address water scarcity in the county.
Calling the efforts to address water scarcity as a collective responsibility between governments and the private sector through Public Private Partnerships(PPP) Mung’aro said he will continue to work with the players for a long lasting solution.
“We are here to check on the possibilities of how we can partner as a county in future with the private sector. We are currently doing our checks with the machine operators here before we engage our county engineer to see if we can get value in partnering with this firm when this water is supplied to the residents. At the moment it costs about Sh200 per cubic meter,” he said.
Mung’aro said he is in the process of securing a partnership with the U.S to establish five solar powered boreholes in Mwanamwinga, Kaloleni.
Desalination water can also be used for agriculture apart from household use.
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