TAITA TAVETA COUNTY GOVERNMENT

OFFICE OF THE MINISTRY OF WATER & IRRIGATION

November 2013
Telephone: 0788186436/0728354337 Email: governortaitataveta@yahoo.com
water@taitataveta.go.ke

P.O. Box 1066-80304 WUNDANYI

COMMUN ICATION TO CITIZENS OF TAITA TAVETA COUNTY.

Communication from : County Executive Committee Member Water and Irrigation To: Citizens of Taita Taveta County
IMPORTANCE OF HARVESTING RAIN WATER - 10,000 LITER STORAGE FOR EVERY HOME
Dear citizens, we are facing a huge deficit in our requirements to meet our annual water demand needs for domestic use and Irrigation for food security in our county. This is partly due to dwindling water sources from our springs, streams and rivers. While activities are on-going to protect our environment, this may take long to get desired results and therefore it is necessary for us to make some short term efforts. The County Government has identified that it is possible for us to meet part of our annual water demand from rain water. At the moment we are using less than 5% of rain water to meet our needs. In many homes the percentage is zero since not even gutters to collect the water have been installed ! There is potential for us to meet up to 40% of our annual water demand from Rain Water. The County Government has therefore embarked on an exercise to educate citizens on the importance of harvesting rain water. We are asking you to join in this campaign to help the county achieve a minimum of 10,000 liters

of water storage for Every Home. It can be achieved if we all work together. How can you help?
Mobilize 10 homes around your home to acquire 10,000 Liters of water

storage capacity over the next 5 Years. They can make individual purchases or they can form a community organization of the 10 homes for that purpose and seek loans. The County Government has organized for loans with Equity and KCB Banks and many more banks will come on board soon. It covers individual and community loans. The Government will spend a significant amount of funding over the next 5 years to promote this activity. We are asking you to be part of the campaign.

In order that citizens are educated properly please find points of education that you can share with others.

1. Why 10,000 Liters Storage?

The world Health organization recommends that every person should have 80 Liters of water per day for use (drinking,food,washing etc). This is our Government target to be achieved by 2018 for all citizens in our County. For now we will accept a target of 40 liters per person per day as a minimum. So for a family of 5 they will require 200 liters per day. If they have 10,000 liters of water storage then they have 50 days of water cover. We have 4 months of rain i.e Nov/Dec and April/May. During these months they have no problem since one week of rains can fill up the tank even if the rains may break for 2-3 weeks. In addition when the rains go they have an extra 100 days of water (50daysx2seasons) which is another 3 months cover. It therefore means the tank can give them up to 7 months (4months with rains+3months extra in dry season) of domestic water. In addition the tank will help to store water when water is supplied from normal supply such as rationed community water or Tavevo supply . It will also store water when there are unexpected rain as it sometimes happenss. In summary this storage will ensure no rain water goes to waste. The issue of animals is being handled differently and a separate communiqu will be issued.

2. Is Rain water Clean?

Rain water is a pure form of water due to its formation process as evaporated pure vapor (leaving all dirt behind) into clouds to condense and return to ground as rain. There are few sources of natural water cleaner than pure rain water.

3. How Much will it Cost to install 10,000 Liter Storage

A 10,000 liter PVC water tank costs Kes.110,000.00 Complete with gutters and Base.

4. How much will I pay if I borrow to buy a 10,000 Liter Storage Tank on Loan?
The Table below gives an indication of monthly repayments on Loans for 10,000 liter tanks based on Kes 110,000.00 (Tank+Gutters+Base+Fittings) Based on 16% interest. These are guidelines only. The actual amounts will be determined by the lender and the vendor. Purchase of 10,000 Liters PVC Tank By Loan Years to 1 2 3 4 5 pay

Monthly 9,441.00 4,720.00 3,147.00 2,360.00 1,860.00 Payment

Nb: This is only for illustration purpose. Actual amount will depend on banks.

5. How Can the County Government Help?

The County Government has negotiated with Equity and KCB Banks to give our citizens Loans at favorable terms without unrealistic conditions. In addition more initiatives are on-going to develop cheaper solutions and will communicate the same to the citizens when such initiatives are ready.

Hon (Engr.) Joseph Mbogho County Executive Member Water and Irrigation TAITA TAVETA COUNTY GOVERNMENT