Sh1 billion sewerage projects completed as new exhauster launched to boost sanitation

West Pokot County Governor Simon Kachapin. [Courtesy]

West Pokot County has completed two major sewerage projects worth more than Sh1 billion, in a move expected to improve sanitation, support urban growth and attract investment.

The Chepareria Sewerage Project, completed last year, and the Kapenguria-Makutano Sewerage Project, completed this year, are awaiting commissioning by President William Ruto.

Central Rift Valley Water Works Development Agency Chief Executive Officer Douglas Murei said the two projects had been implemented jointly with the North Rift Valley Water Works Development Agency with funding from the Government of Kenya and the African Development Bank.

Kapenguria-Makutano sewerage project. [Irissheel Shanzu, Standard]

Murei said the Kapenguria-Makutano project cost Sh759 million, while the Chepareria sewerage system cost Sh251 million.

The projects are designed to serve a projected population of 50,000 in Kapenguria-Makutano and 15,000 in Chepareria by 2040.

Speaking during the handover of a newly acquired exhauster to the county water company, Murei said the equipment would provide immediate sanitation services as the county awaits full commissioning of the sewerage infrastructure.

“Today, we are handing over this exhauster for the county, through the water company, to use as we await full commissioning of the project,” he said.

“This is a way of saving lives. Cleanliness is what we require in every village, every county and every town.”

The agency also handed over the exhauster vehicles worth Sh12 million, alongside laboratory equipment and other components intended to support water supply and maintenance services.

Kapenguria Water and Sewerage Company (KAWASES) Managing Director Festus Tingaa said the new exhauster would ease the burden residents and institutions faced in accessing sanitation services.

He said schools whose pit latrines filled up had previously been forced to seek exhauster services from Kitale and Eldoret, increasing the cost and inconvenience of maintaining sanitation facilities.

“We now have a new machine that will help our schools and residents access these services locally at an affordable cost,” Tingaa said.

He said the completion of the Kapenguria and Chepareria sewerage systems would address one of the major infrastructure challenges limiting the expansion of the two urban centres.

“For a long time, we have not had a sewerage system, but now the Kapenguria sewerage project is complete. Chepareria is also complete. The only component we are waiting for is water from Muruny,” he said.

Tingaa said the anticipated water supply from the Muruny project would enable the sewerage systems to become operational, improving sanitation in Kapenguria, Chepareria and Kacheliba.

He attributed the increasing demand for sanitation services to rural-urban migration, saying more residents were moving into towns following the expansion of devolved services.

The KAWASES chief also appealed to investors who had been hesitant to establish businesses in West Pokot to reconsider, citing the anticipated improvement in water supply.

“If water has been the obstacle preventing investors from coming to West Pokot, I urge them to come and invest. There are immense opportunities in this county,” he said.

The new exhauster is expected to provide an interim solution to sanitation challenges as the county prepares for the full operationalisation of the sewerage infrastructure.

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