Water Cabinet Secretary Eric Mugaa has urged residents living along the Tana River in Garissa and Tana River counties to move to higher ground if water levels rise during the expected heavy rains.
Mugaa said on Tuesday, September 15, that rainfall linked to El Niño and the Indian Ocean Dipole could fill the Seven Forks dams and force them to release excess water.
The Seven Forks system includes Masinga, Kamburu, Gitaru, Kindaruma and Kiambere dams, all located along the Tana River.
According to the CS, the dams could spill if the rains reach the projected levels. This could increase the amount of water flowing downstream and put communities living along the river at risk.
He warned that homes, livestock and other livelihoods in vulnerable areas could be affected, especially in sections where the river becomes wider and flatter.
Mugaa explained that the dams have spillways designed to release excess water once they reach their storage limits. However, he said the situation could become risky if several dams release water at the same time.
“When our dams become full and water starts passing through the spillways, particularly where dams are arranged in series with one downstream of another, all that water eventually returns to the river course,” Mugaa said.
He added that flooding could occur where the river channel is unable to carry the amount of water released from the dams.
The CS asked residents in flood-prone areas to take precautions and relocate to safer areas where necessary.
Mugaa said the government was also looking at ways to increase the country’s water-storage capacity. He identified this as a long-term solution that would help manage excess water during heavy rains and provide supplies during dry periods.
He said the National Infrastructure Fund could be used to raise money for additional storage facilities, noting that the construction of one mega dam could cost between Ksh20 billion and Ksh40 billion.
Furthermore, CS indicated that the Department of State for Irrigation was working on plans to finish a canal that will divert some of the water from Tana River into an inland swamp.
The CS added that the half-done project was among the long-term interventions that might be used to minimize flooding in the area.
On his part, Mugaa said the extended Bura Irrigation Scheme had a canal that can hold 11,000 liters of water per second. It is ready to be opened if need be.
For now, he indicated that the priority of the government was to safely release water from the dams and work on reducing floods in the Tana River basin.
