IS THERE ENOUGH WATER IN TIANIA?

Like all politicians do, those from Tiania invariably promise heaven at election time, and this is perhaps why they have time and time again promised the community adequate potable water once elected because they are aware of its scarcity in the larger area in the west and north. The script has always been similar but only the actors do change with the times to suit the circumstances. The promise has always been to tap water either from the neighboring Nyambene Hills or the distant Mount Kenya reservoir. However, whereas the ploy is to enable therm get votes, their statements could also be fallacious for two main reasons. Firstly, the Nyambene water tower is minuscule and can't feed the Tiania community adequately, let alone the Igembe, Tharaka and the wildlife in Meru National Park. You will also find that the two more permanent rivers, Ura and Thanantu only serve a small portion of the land area in Tiania before draining into the National Park and Tharaka respectively. Therefore, trying to tap water from them will instantly attract wrath from the Kenya Wildlife Service and Tharaka community respectively thereby bringing more conflict in the area. Secondly, trying the Mount Kenya source will not only require enormous resources, which at the moment would like working  miracles for a political leadership that is ill at ease to mobilize, but also cause even more conflict from the Imenti community which may not be comfortable with water pipelines bypassing them. However, all is not lost because when you look at the bigger picture, you will find that Tiania has two rainfall seasons every year but lacks in the surface water. The burden could be eased if this rain water was harvested and stored. We may not be sure of the available ground water but with proper hydrological surveys, this could also be explored even though this is also not cheap. What is needed at the moment is to avoid the political route and address water need in a developmental context. That way, you will realize that there could be enough water for people, animals, plants and also the sun!