A new dawn has set in for the people of Turkana County after the United States government invested sh25 billion for an underground water analysis project.
“We have supported this project with $250 million. It will help understand what is available and how we are going to access it,” said US Ambassador Robert Godec as told by the Star
He noted Turkana’s underground water is enough to supply the precious but scarce commodity to the entire semi-arid Northern region of Kenya.
He said that they are already mapping the project to establish how the water resource will be utilized.
Some of the regions that will benefit once the project is complete include West Pokot, Marsabit and other Northern Kenya counties.
In 2013, two aquifers were discovered near Lodwar and Lotikipi in Turkana County. They have a capacity of 10 and 200 billion cubic meters respectively.
Godec also launched sh3.8 billion water supply project funded by US government. The project’s intent is to ensure every household in the county get access to clean water.
Water scarcity in Northern Kenya has remained the biggest challenge for decades.
But with the discovery of oil in the region, it was also discovered that the region has immense potential to produce water.
The discovery comes in the wake of alarming reports from international human rights lobby group of decreasing water levels in Lake Turkana.
Turkana and other surrounding counties are nomadic in nature. However, with the availability of water, there could be shift from pastoralism to farming which has been tried out and proven to work.
