After much anticipation, the third edition of the Journey of Water Campaign is set for Kisumu; River Kibos — the main river supplying Kenya’s third largest city.
Less than a year after Kenya endured one of its worst droughts in recent history, the country now confronts a new crisis: flooding. Heavy rainfall, anticipated until June, has unleashed devastating floods that has claimed at least 169 lives between March and April, with one harrowing incident that killed more than 60 people after a flash flood swept through a village in Mai Mahiu at night.
The floods have exposed decades of poor rural and urban planning and bad land management. Hence, our third Journey of Water campaign provides an opportune moment to not only raise awareness on the need for collective water resource management but also to bring key stakeholders together to push for holistic water management across the country.
Despite being adjacent Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest freshwater lake, Kisumu faces persistent water shortages.
Kisumu Water and Sanitation (KIWASCO), the city’s water utility provider, cites the lake’s high impurity levels as a barrier to cost-effective purification, prompting the exploration of alternative sources like rivers Kibos and Nyangori.
Originating in the hills of Nandi and Vihiga Counties, these rivers battle unprecedented degradation from human encroachment and climate change, worsening challenges in water production, availability and accessibility.
The Journey of Water campaign, coinciding with the Aquatic Resources and Blue Economy Conference (ARBEC II, 2024) in Kisumu, aims to spotlight water as a critical resource for communities, wildlife, and businesses. The conference advocates for science-driven stewardship to foster a sustainable blue economy.
Concurrently held, these events offer a unique opportunity to engage local communities, policymakers, scholars, and influencers in discussions concerning Kisumu’s water crisis and broader issues within the Lake basin and beyond.
Dr William Ojwang — Manager, Kenya Rift Lakes Landscape, WWF-Kenya, Manager, led the stakeholders’ inaugural Journey of Water campaign meeting in collaboration with the Water Resources Authority (WRA) and Kisumu Water and Sanitation Company Limited in Kisumu.
The gathering convened various stakeholders, including representatives of Water Resource Users Associations, the private sector, academia, and government agencies.
In October 2023, WWF-Kenya granted KIWASCO Ksh10 million to support the conservation and rehabilitation of River Nyang’ori and Kibos water sources. This initiative aims to enhance water production and supply to thousands of Kisumu residents reliant on KIWASCO’s services.
The Journey of Water campaign is an integral component of the Catchment to Tap (C2T) project that is funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Kenya. The campaign involves taking stakeholders along a journey covering the upper, middle and lower catchment areas of important rivers in Kenya.
Scheduled from 19–21 June this year, the Journey of Water River Kibos campaign seeks to raise awareness and foster collaborative efforts toward sustainable and integrated water resource management.
By Obi Owino — Communications Officer, WWF-Kenya
