Conflict over water that could delay opening of Isiolo International Airport

Women of Nkando water project in Maili saba, Meru county, repair pipes broken by contractors hired by Isiolo county government to pipe water to the county. Work by a contractor undertaking the contentious Sh1 billion Isiolo Phase 2 Water Project has left thousands of residents of three wards in Meru County without water. (PHOTO: PETER MUTHOMI/ STANDARD)

Lucy Wanja is among dozens of women and men digging a shallow furrow in the rocky banks of Kithima River in Buuri in an attempt to restore water pipes destroyed by a bulldozer.

Ms Wanja says for two weeks now, residents of her Mumoi village in Tigania West have not had water in their taps. It is nearing 3pm and the patching of the Mukaria Water Project’s badly ruptured pipes is nowhere near completion, yet Wanja and her village mates have to travel back 20 kilometres to their homes. They are not alone.