Access to clean water is a human right that everyone should enjoy. Kenya’s Water Act, 2016 (No. 43 of 2016) states that every person in Kenya has the right to clean and safe water in adequate quantities and to reasonable standards of sanitation. However, approximately 40% of Kenya’s population have no access to clean water.
For instance, Kajiado is among the largest counties in Kenya with a population of over a million residents and according to the Kenya County Climate Risk Profile Series, 47% of the Kajiado county population lives in absolute poverty with no potable water.
In addition to the insufficient supply of water, most towns in Kajiado County have no sewerage systems. To resolve this crisis, most of the Kajiado County residents have resorted to groundwater from boreholes and wells. This has become a dependable source of water, especially, during dry spells or droughts.
Kajiado County’s rapid growth has caused its residents to be proactive in digging boreholes and building sewer lines, this is a step in the right direction to solving the water wretchedness.
It is important to note that the most precious natural resource many developed and developing countries have access to is groundwater.
However, utilization of groundwater in some areas has experienced challenges, research has revealed that pollutants are present in groundwater and this exposes risks to waterborne diseases like typhoid and cholera.
While we mark this year’s World Water Day under the “Be the Change” we need to invest more in groundwater so as to deal with water scarcity . The latest report by the UN emphasizes on how the development of groundwater access can help alleviate water scarcity in drought prone regions. Let us come together and address the water scarcity within our neighborhoods, communities, countries and across the globe.
Join in!