A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) has released the findings of a survey on water, sanitation, and hygiene in Laikipia County that compares the county’s access to water resource with the rest of the country.

The survey conducted by Twaweza ni Sisi organisation in January and February this year saw over 3600 respondents from Laikipia County interviewed verbally and over the phone on their experiences and opinions on their accessibility to the important resource.

While presenting insights of the survey results to the Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu, Twaweza Ni Sisi Programmes Officer James Ciera noted that the findings of the exercise indicated that 55 percent of households have access to piped water.

‘Laikipia has a higher access to piped water (55 percent) compared to Kenya’s overall which stands at 41 percent and considerably that higher than rural areas of the country which is at 32 percent,’ Ciera noted.

The second insight of the survey indicated that 92 percent of locals can access drinking water w
ithin 30 minutes, including time taken to travel to source, waiting, collecting the water and returning home.

The survey noted that in Laikipia, the average water collection time is 14 minutes lower that of the national average of 23 minutes.

Another finding of the survey was that 57 percent of Laikipia residents treat their drinking water before consuming either through boiling or use of chemicals.

The other finding of the survey indicated that two out of ten households (21 percent) in Laikipia have access to flush toilet connected to a sewer or septic tank while 62 percent have access to another type of improved latrine facility.

‘This includes half of all households in the county that have a pit latrine with a washable slab, the most basic form of latrine that is classed as improved,’ Ciera said.

Governor Irungu while receiving the report said that his administration was committed to ensuring that all residents have access to clean water.

‘My administration is committed to ensuring that no resident s
hould travel for more than a kilometer to get water for domestic use or for livestock. We have commenced sinking boreholes and constructing water pans across all the wards in the county,’ Governor Irungu said.

County Executive Committee Member in charge of Water, Environment, and Sanitation Leah Njeri who was also present said that her department had already sunk close to 20 boreholes in the past one year as a way of ensuring that residents have access to reliable water at home for domestic use.

Source: Kenya News Agency