THIWASCO kicks-off KES. 12 billion journey to quench Thika thirst.

Thika Water & Sewerage Company (THIWASCO) Managing Director Eng. Moses Kinya addressing stakeholders  during the Karimenu Water Supply Project stakeholders’ engagement meeting on Wednesday morning.

Clustered into three programmes, these developments will see the company increase the current water treatment supply of 39,000m³ (39 million litres) per day to about 63,000 m³ (63 million litres) per day by the year 2025.
Thika Water & Sewerage Company (THIWASCO) has kicked off a KES. 12 billion infrastructural journey to meet Thika’s consumer water demand for the next 20 years up to the year 2040.

The company’s Managing Director Eng. Moses Kinya revealed this during the Karimenu Water Supply Project stakeholders’ engagement meeting on Wednesday morning.

The project, which taps water from Karimenu River near Maryhill Girls High school, is funded by the World Bank at a tune of KES. 1.04 billion. It will add 15,000m³ (15 million litres) of water per day to the current 39,000 m³ daily against the current water demand of 55,000 m³ (55 million litres) per day.

The project starts in September this year and is expected to be complete in September 2022.

It targets to supply water to Tora, Witeithie, Muthara, Athena, Kianjau, Kiandutu, Kiganjo, Munyu, Gatuanyaga, Githima and Komo. This will free off the Chania/Thika River water source to supply more water to the rest of the areas, thus easing the water scarcity currently experienced in Thika and its environs.

Using internally generated finances, THIWASCO has also started improving on technology in the current treatment plant near Blue Post Hotel, to enable it increase its water treatment capacity and supply by an extra 12,000m³ (12 million litres) per day. The first phase of this programme is already in its tendering stage.

However, the biggest project that THIWASCO targets to alleviate water shortages in the area for the next 20 years is the Thika-Githunguri Water and Sanitation Project that is funded by DANIDA at a tune of KES. 11 billion.

This project, when complete, will add an extra 36,000 m³ (36 million litres) of water per day. In this project, the company plans to tap water at the junction of the Kiama and Thika Rivers in Murang’a County.

The project also involves the construction of 3 sewerage plants at Pilot, Nanga and Kilimambogo to increase sewerage connection by 7,000 m³ (7 million litres) of sewer collection per day.

This DANIDA project is currently at preparation stage and is expected to be complete by the year 2025.

Currently, THIWASCO’s main water sources are Chania River, which supplies 20,000 m³ per day, and Thika River that supplies 16,000 m³ per day.

Others are the five boreholes at Kilimambogo, Salama, Gatuanyaga, Matathia and Maryhill.

Some of the boreholes that were sunk in other areas produced water that was not fit for human consumption.

The company currently serves clean drinking water to 366,638 people and treats about 17 million litres of sewer per day. There are 51,322 water connection and 13,690 sewerage connections.

It’s revenue base rose from KES. 468 million in 2015 to KES. 763 million in 2019. This amount dropped to KES. 660 million last year due to the effects of COVID-19.

Water connection rose from 26,662 in 2015 to 36,315 in 2020. This is as the water production rose from 11.5m³ to 13.6 m³ per day during the same period. The company’s investment in terms of infrastructure development also rose from KES. 95 million to KES. 214 million during the same period.

THIWASCO has also incorporated technology in metre reading and billing and is no longer using cash transactions.