Residents of Passenga village in Ol-Kalou Constituency are crying foul over the inadequate sources of clean water in their area.
The residents claim that available water from the ex-colonial Gathua dam that serves over 1,000 households, is dirty water and is covered with algae and poses a serious health risk to users.
The residents said they fetch water from the dam for home use and for their livestock while some other residents drive their animals into the and thus contaminating the water.
Hannah Njeri and Daniel King’ori among other residents also fetch water from the water for sale at the local Pasenga trading centre and to individuals who may not have the strength to withstand the tiresome journey to the dam.
However, they claim that efforts to seek help from the government to desilt a dam were yet to bear fruits.
Residents accuse the local leaders of not doing enough to address the problem of water shortage despite several reminders about the gravity of the water crisis.
They are also calling on the county government of Nyandarua through the Water Department to look into ways of sinking boreholes in the area to provide access to clean water and or clean the dam and set up a separate water trough for use by livestock.
This, they said will help address the challenges of accessing clean water.
However according to Daniel Muniu, Pasenga’s Senior Chief, observed that lack of piped water was a challenge but added that efforts were being made to ensure the safety of residents using the water.
He noted that his office was providing residents with chlorine from the local public health department to help clean the water.