RAPID ASSESSMENT REPORT
WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene)
Needs - Marsabit County, Kenya
Commissioned for: Concern Kenya
Author: Annmarie Swai
Date: December 2012
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ACRONYMS
ASAL Arid and Semi-Arid Lands
CLTS Community-led Total Sanitation
DRR Disaster Risk Reduction
DWA District Water Authorities
EIA Environmental Impact Assessment
FIM Food Income and Market
GoK Government of Kenya
INGO International Non-Governmental Organizations
IWRM Integrated Water Resource Management
KAP Knowledge Attitude and Practice
MICS Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey
MoPHS Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation
MoWI Ministry of Water and Irrigation
NFIs Non Food Items
NWSB Northern Water and Services Board
PADR Participatory Assessment for Disaster Risk
PHAST Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation
PICD Participatory Integrated Community Development
PPOM Public-Private Operation & Maintenance
RBA Rights Based Approach
SIA Social Impact Assessment
WASH Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
WESCOORD Water and Environmental Sanitation Coordination
WSP Water Service Provider
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1.
Introduction:
Concern Kenya has been implementing an Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) Livelihoods programme
in Marsabit County, Northern Kenya since 2008. This 5-year programme has aimed at addressing the
poverty and vulnerability faced by pastoralist communities within the target districts of Central,
Marsabit North (Chalbi and Maikona), Moyale, Sololo, and Laisamis, through promoting
improvements in their livelihood productivity and food security. Activities have evolved from having
an emergency to restoration and, towards the latter part of the programme, a development
orientation. The focus has been on building empowered, self reliant communities who are better
able to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change, such as increased frequency of drought,
making them more resilient to the related shocks and stresses, and better able to protect their asset
bases.
The availability of sufficient, reliable water sources for human and livestock use is a major factor
limiting pastoral livelihoods in ASALs. Recognising this, under the programme Concern has been
working to promote access to safe and adequate water for livelihoods through investing in water
service provision (construction/rehabilitation of boreholes, water pans, rock catchments),
strengthening community water resource management systems and advocating on the issue of
rights to water and government responsibilities in the sector. This work has however been
undertaken without a clear strategy for engagement in the water sector, which has limited the
effectiveness, sustainability and ultimately the impact of the interventions.
Concern has now entered in to the next 5-year Country Strategic Plan for Kenya (2012 – 2016) which
includes a continued focus on pastoral communities through its Livelihoods – now Food, Income and
Markets (FIM) – as wells as Education and Nutrition programmes. Given the central place of water
in the livelihoods, social and economic development of ASAL communities, the organisation also
seeks to expand its engagement in the water sector. In line with this, Concern is seeking to develop
a comprehensive Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Strategy that defines a more focused and
effective programmatic approach within the sector and underpins, reinforces and creates synergies
with its FIM, Education and Nutrition programming over the next 5 years.
As part of this process, Concern has commissioned this rapid assessment of the WASH situation in
Marsabit County with the aim of identifying potential areas for the organisation’s engagement in the
sector. This assessment focuses on the following issues:



Key challenges in WASH service provision and recommendations for addressing them
Key challenges of community based water resource management approach and
recommendations for addressing them
Feasibility of implementing a Public-Private Partnership approach to WASH service provision
in Marsabit County within the context of pastoralists communities (this forms a separate
annexed report)
This WASH assessment has been compiled following various field visits, meetings with key actors
(see Annex 1: Itinerary and List of Persons met Marsabit/Moyale visits) and research and review of
other work in this sector. The outcomes have been used to develop Concerns 5 year ASAL Water
Hygiene and Sanitation Strategy for Marsabit County for 2013 – 2018. The assessment forms an
integarl part of and should therefore be read and referred to alongside the startegy documnet.
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2.
Background and Context
Marsabit County is located within the North
Eastern Province of Kenya and is situated at
the very northern part of the country. It is
bordered by Ethiopia to the north, Turkana to
the north-west, Samburu and Isiolo to the
South, and Wajir to the east. Covering an area
of approximately 70,961 Km2, it has an
estimated population of 291,166 people.
Marsabit County is divided into the following
Districts: Moyale, Marsabit Central, Marsabit
North
(Chalbi,
Maikona),
Laisamis,
1
Loiyangalani, North-Horr, and Sololo .
Being located within the so-called SomaliaChalbi desert eco-climatic zone, and
experiencing extremely low rainfall – ranging
from 200mm/year at the lowest parts to
800mm/year at the areas of highest elevation,
Marsabit is characterised as an arid and semi
arid land (ASAL) and in fact falls within the
highest category (those with aridity extent of
between 85 – 100%)2. While characteristics
vary, in most parts the soil is of poor texture,
low fertility and of extremely low organic
content, tending towards a low water holding
capacity and a propensity to surface sealing
which reduces infiltration and increases
Figure 1: Map of Marsabit County Location and Density.
Source Kenya County Fact Sheets - Commission on Revenue overland flow and soil erosion.
Allocation, 2009
Nomadic pastoralism, which is the only form
of productive land use that is truly viable in such a climatic zone, accounts for 97% of the land use. It
is therefore the predominant source of livelihood for the population. Arable farming is restricted to
the remaining 3% of the district’s land area – where crop production is mixed with animal rearing. All
households do however keep shoats, cattle and camels in varying proportions – livestock being an
important part of the lifestyle3.
Rainfall occurs twice a year – during the long rains (March to May) and short rains (October to
December). When it does fall it is variable and very locally distributed, occurring mostly as heavy
showers with large amounts lost to run-off. As a result of the harsh climatic conditions and
unreliable rainfall patterns, which are compounded by climate change, land degradation and
population growth4, the County is extremely prone to and suffers from recurring drought.
However, while the trend used to be peak conditions recurring every 5 to 10 years, over the past 5
1
Kenya Population and Housing Census, GoK, 2009, Marsabit District Vision and Strategy 2005 – 2015, PWC,
2005
2
Aril Lands Resource Management Project II – Marsabit District Annual Progress Report July 2008 – June 2009,
GoK, 2009
3
Aril Lands Resource Management Project II – Marsabit District Annual Progress Report July 2008 – June 2009,
GoK, 2009
4
A Review and Analysis of Development Policy for the Arid and Semi-arid Areas of Kenya, International
Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)/Kenya Energy and Environment Organisations (KENGO, Adaptive
Strategies for Sustainable Livelihoods, Samuel Mutiso, 1995
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years there has been a significant narrowing of this period with the frequency of drought occurrence
increasing to as little as every 1 to 2 years and with some communities reporting 4 failed rainy
seasons within a span of 2 years5. Extreme climatic conditions are however not only limited to
drought, and when heavy rainfall does occur, the area is also prone to severe flooding conditions –
such as during the El-Nino in 1997/98 and the more recent flash floods that in 2010. These extreme
climatic conditions have devastating effects on the already fragile environment and put untold stress
on the pastoral livelihoods that are already in a very precarious condition.
In keeping with the findings of the National Poverty Eradication Plan of Kenya (1999 – 2015), which
indicates the highest incidences of poverty to lie within the country’s ASALs, the poverty rate of
Marsabit County is estimated at 83.2%6. Different districts within the county have relatively high
incidences of poverty –62% of the population in Marsabit and 51% in Moyale are for example
estimated to be living below the poverty line as compared to a national average of 46%7. Socioeconomic indicators for the County are also relatively low. According to UNICEF’s 2008 MICs the
under-five mortality rate and the infant mortality rate were calculated at 70/1,000 live births and
47/ 1,000 live births respectively. In terms of Nutritional status, 29% of children aged 6-59 months
were severely or moderately underweight, 20% were stunted and 14% were wasted. With regard to
education, only 24% of the primary school entry age children were attending primary school, with
the net school attendance rate estimated at 62% for primary and 10% for secondary, and an overall
female adult literacy rate of 38%.
3.
Assessment of Water Supply Situation in Marsabit
3.1
Overview
Access to and availability of sufficient and reliable water sources for both human and livestock
consumption is critical to enable pastoral communities living in Marsabit County to address their
fundamental human and livelihood requirements. Unfortunately, given its eco-climatic zone,
Marsabit is extremely water scarce, with limited avilability of fresh water resources. While it is
estimated that 77.6% of the population have access to water8, this number goes down to 50% in
terms of utilization of an improved source for drinking water and further to 41% in terms of low
wealth index households9.
In the larger towns, piped water supplies some residents at a household level. Supplies are
insufficient however with the broader population relying on water tankering. In the rural parts of the
district, there exists no single permanent river and Lake Turkana is saline and therefore of limited
use for human and livestock consumption. The primary water sources are therefore either
underground (boreholes, shallow wells and springs) or surface (rock catchments, pans/dams and
roof catchments). Their distribution is uneven and the potential of most is extremely seasonal,
meaning that vast tracts of the extensive land area remain void of water resources for long periods
of time. As there are already few structures available for adequate water provision throughout a
regular year, in the dry seasons and/or times of drought water scarcity is exacerbated and can reach
life threatening proportions.
Typically humans and livestock spend a large proportion of their productive time searching for water
for use – as an example, according to the MICS survey, only 7% of households have drinking water
on premises, and majority – over 73% spend over 1 hour to collect water, with the average time to
the source to bring water being 250 minutes. This task disproportionally affects women – for 87% of
households, and adult female is usually responsible for collecting water10.
5
WASH Strategy CCSMKE Marsabit, Clair Simmons, Tearfund, 2011
Kenya Country Fact Sheets, Commission on Revenue Allocation, 2010
7
Concern Kenya ASAL Livelihood Programme, 2008 – 2012.
8
Kenya Country Fact Sheets, Commission on Revenue Allocation, 2010
9
Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), Kenya Eastern Province, Marsabit District, UNICEF, 2008
10
Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), Kenya Eastern Province, Marsabit District, UNICEF, 2008
6
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Existing infrastructure is often unfairly distributed due not only to the potentiality of the various
source areas, but also due to inadequate financing. There is also some risk of environment
degradation due to inappropriate and/or uncoordinated siting of water sources, which can result in
the degradation of the already fragile rangeland environment which can lead to loss of grazing areas,
conflicts and increased vulnerability of pastoral communities to drought. The long term sustainability
of developed infrastructure is also at risk due to inappropriate technology choices, which the
community cannot sustainably manage and which encourage environmental degradation, poor
design and construction, due to limited numbers of skilled persons in pastoral areas and limited
capacity of the beneficiary communities to manage, operate and maintain the sources to due to
poor skills, unwillingness to pay for water, poor accountability/financial mismanagement, gender
imbalances in the management of water systems, cultural barriers, political interference etc.
As access to and reliability of water sources has a key influence on food and livelihood security
appropriate development of water resources is therefore a key component in promoting sustainable
socio-economic development in the County.
3.2
Town Water Supply
Water supply to the town of Marsabit is managed by the Northern Water Services Board (NWSB).
Plans are underway to contract out service provision to a private company but so far this has not
taken place. The water is sourced from the Bakuli springs, treated and piped to approximately
40,000 people. The system is inadequate and water is rationed to consumers who receive supply
once a week. To augment supply the government has embarked on the construction of Badassa
Dam, a 50m high earth embankment in the forest around Marsabit town, which should hold 5
million cubic meters of water once complete and after sufficient rainfall. Construction has however
been delayed and is unlikely to be completed before the end of May 2013.
Figure 2: Top Left - Marsabit Water Supply System - filtration plant and storage tanks; Top Right - Badessa
Dam - construction in progress.
In Moyale, the other main town in the county, water is sourced from 5 boreholes and distributed
through a piped network. Coverage is insufficient for the town population, and rationing takes place.
Efforts are however underway by the private water service provider (WSP) Moyale Water Company,
to expand household connections. In both places, residents are forced to rely on water tankering
and roof rainwater harvesting to augment the deficient supply.
3.3
Ground Water Sources
The underlying aquifer is the only permanent water source in the County. Limited data is available,
but it appears to be approximately 250 to 300m in depth around the Marsabit plateau, of stable
yield (reportedly between 0.2-0.5m3/h) and to be recharged from the north within Ethiopia11.
Extraction and use of this water is predominantly through the following means.
11
WASH Strategy CCSMKE Marsabit, Clair Simmons, Tearfund, 2011
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3.3.1 Boreholes
There are currently over 35 boreholes that have been developed and are in use across Marsabit
County. The number has been subject to increase due to the drilling of a series of boreholes by the
Chinese company involved in the development of the road network from Marsabit to Turbi. These
are intended for use in the construction, but surrounding communities are permitted access and
they will be handed over to them when construction is completed.
These boreholes represent a critical, strategic resource as they are the only water sources that
remain productive year round and during the dry/drought seasons. Water extraction from boreholes
is by submersible pumps powered by generator sets so water is paid for and is at a premium being a
critical source to a large number of users (community members, livestock owners, water tanker
owners). In most cases, water drawn from boreholes is distributed through standpipes, water kiosks
and animal toughs.
In some cases, the Government has
also contracted pipelines to deliver
water to more distant sites (e.g. the
pipeline being installed from Kamboe
borehole to bring water to Karare, Kijiji
and Hula Hula communities). Water
trucking is also a key delivery method,
particularly in Central Marsabit where
it is ongoing during the “regular” year
to augment shortages in supply, and
increases within and to outlying
districts during the dry season/drought
period. Management of these
relatively complex water resources is
undertaken by community based
Figure 3: Bori Borehole: Top left: borehole, storage tank and
water management committees who
generator house; top right - animal troughs: bottom - users cue to
purchase water from kiosk.
often lack the requisite means and
technical skills to undertake the task.
This inevitably results in poor operation, maintenance, and management of the water sources
leading to insufficient cost recovery, frequent breakdowns, deterioration of infrastructure which
inhibits the reliable and sustainable delivery of water.
Given that relative scarcity of ground water sources and the extreme depth of the aquifer, locating,
developing and extracting/managing water from borehole sources is very challenging and extremely
costly in terms of financial resources as well as time. Existing boreholes are furthermore not evenly
distributed and their use tends to result in the convergence of livestock populations which
exacerbates the degradation of land and pasture resources. In addition, despite their importance,
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many boreholes do not functional optimally and/or are subject to frequent breakdown, a factor
exacerbated in the dry season/drought period due to overuse and poor community management. In
times of water scarcity, prices are reported to fluctuate dramatically - costs can increase from Kshs.
2 /20 litre. jerry can to Kshs. 70/20 litre. jerry can – which is unaffordable for pastoral communities.
3.3.2 Shallow Wells
Where the geographical formation allows for the underlying water table to be reached within a few
meters (10-15 meters on average), or along the course of the larger seasonal luggas, shallow or hand
dug wells are developed for water extraction. This mainly occurs in the lower lying desert areas
(Chalbi), with a large number also concentrated in Maikona, Laisamis, Badassa and Moyale. Shallow
wells – both protected and unprotected - are in use for both community and school water supply.
They can be dug relatively fast and with limited use of mechanical equipment and therefore
represent a more rapid, economically viable option for water supply.
Given that the water table being accessed is
recharged through rainfall, shallow wells tend to
have a relatively low yield and are prone to
drying out during dry/drought periods. For
traditional open community wells, used for
human and livestock watering and where water lifting is through leather buckets and ropes or teams
of men passing water upwards in small containers, and where shallow wells are located in more
dense, polluted areas (the Luggas in Marsabit) the water is very prone to contamination from runoff
fecal and waste matter or unhygienic user practices. Where wells are covered and fixed with hand
pumps – and where no appropriate maintenance skills and facilities are provided, they are subject to
breakdown, making them inoperable. Water output from hand pumps may also not be sufficient to
address peak demands of livestock water, and they are not therefore a suitable extraction method
for nomadic communities.
Figure 4: Shallow wells in Maikona: Top left, shallow well
with broken hand pump. Casement has been broken to
allow manual extraction. Top right protected shallow well
with animal tough. Bottom left, protected open shallow
well with manual extraction.
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3.3.3 Spring Catchments
In certain areas, for example Kalacha, natural permanent springs exist where water high pressure
causes water to percolate up from the aquifer through fissures in the rock surface. This water is
captured through the development of casings to reduce the upward flow. In some cases walls or
troughs are developed to facilitate containment and collection of water. Fences may be developed
to protect the water source but poles and fencing are often removed as they impeded movement of
livestock. As with the open wells, these open water sources, unless very adequately protected, are
prone to contamination from runoff faecal and waste matter or unhygienic user practices.
Figure 5: Spring catchment in Maikona. Left picture
open, unprotected spring water. Right picture - walled
casement to contain and collect water.
3.4
Surface Water
Despite only receiving only approximately 600-800mm in the mountain plain and 300-400mm in the
lowlands, rainfall represents one of the most critical water sources for Marsabit district. It is in fact
only when rain occurs during the two periods of rainfall in a year; the long rains from March to May
and the short rains from end October to beginning December that meaningful amounts of water are
available for almost all parts of the district. A variety of methods are used to harvest this rain and
conserve it for use during the dry season, with the quantity of rain fed sources and period of their
usage depending on the rainfall availability. When rain falls, it tends to occur in heavy showers,
which can cause much damage to water sources and can also result in large amounts of water going
to waste and running away. Unfortunately, given the increased frequency of drought in the area,
failure of rains tends to cause increased stress and hardship in a community where water sources
are already extremely limited and precious. Harvesting and conservation of rain water is
predominantly through the following means:
3.4.1 Water Pans
Water pans represent the most common form of rain water collection and conservation, particularly
in higher elevation areas receiving at least 450mm of water in a normal year. They are the primary
means through which rain water is collected for livestock and human consumption. Traditional pans
occur where rain water runs off in to and accumulates in natural depressions in the ground. These
depressions have been further improved through excavating and compacting the basin, and
developing embankments to increase storage volume. The water pans can be built manually using
compacting machinery like bulldozers and typically have a capacity of 10,000 or 20,000 m 3.
Improved water pans have also been developed that provide for the filtration and protection of
water for human use- through the development of filtration galleries. A traditional method, known
as the Meri is sometimes used by the Borana to safeguard and facilitate desilting of a water pan. This
involves the construction of a clay wall (from silt drawn from inside of the pan) along the edge of the
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pan to form a natural trough. Thorny branches are then placed on the edge to prevent animals
entering the pan and livestock are watered from the trough. Once they finish the area is swept clean
of feces, the trough dismantled and all this dirt deposited away from the pan effectively cleaning and
desilting the area.
Figure 6: Top left - simple water pan near Marsabit
town. Top right improved water pan with infiltration
gallery near Moyale town. Bottom right close up of
infiltration gallery which allows for separate collection of
filtered water for human use.
Being collected from ground surface run off,
water contained in water pans is prone to heavy
pollution with soil particulates and silt. Livestock
also tend to enter the pans during watering
further contaminating the water with fecal
matter. This same water is then drawn for
human consumption, and if not properly
treated, poses a major health risk to the user.
The large amounts of sediment washed in also
tend to build over the course of use causing the
reservoirs to silt up, reducing the dam storage
capacity. The large surface area of open water
also results in high evaporation of the water
reservoirs. Finally, increasingly erratic rainfall
and frequently occurring drought conditions
may lead to pans failing to fill, reducing their
reliability.
3.4.2 Rock Catchments
In many locations, there exist large rock outcrops that prominently stand out from surrounding
plains, and that may even receive some additional precipitation from rainfall and dew. These
outcrops are encircled with low masonry walls to form channels and catchments that guide runoff
water in to storage tanks developed at the base which can effectively and economically collect and
store water.
As the rock surfaces are relatively free of silt and human and animal activities and the collection
tanks are covered, the water collected is relatively safer than other run off sources. The tanks can be
developed at various capacities and can also be locked and managed so that they can be kept as
reservoirs for use in the extremely dry period. They can also be easily managed and reserved for
human use only. Development of rock catchments is however quite costly, and only feasible in hilly
areas with large rock outcrops.
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Figure 7: Mega Rock Catchment Namarrei. Top left
catchment with collection taps in foreground. Top
right covered and locked collection tank. Bottom view
of catchmnet with collection toughs on rock face and
mega collection tank at base
3.4.3 Roof Catchments
A relatively common option for rainfall collection is via roof top harvesting. This approach involves
catching water runoff from pitched corrugated iron sheet rooftops through makeshift guttering
directed along the side of the building which then flows via pipes in to collection tanks – either
cement or plastic, often encased in cement to further protect them. The technology is relatively
simple, and the approach is typically used to collect water for human consumption. It is particularly
common and mostly viable in areas with permanent buildings, and is mostly used for institutions like
schools, health centres and government buildings. In some cases, simpler, adapted structures are
used to enable catchment through makeshift guttering in to plastic tanks from housing structures
covered with tarpaulin sheets. As the roofing surfaces are free of silt and human and animal waste,
and the collection tanks are covered, the water collected is relatively safer than other run off
sources. The costs of guttering and construction/purchase of collection tanks can however be
prohibitive for households, limiting uptake.
Figure 8: Roof rainwater harvesting system in teachers’ housing in
Namarrei (left), adapted rainwater harvesting system with tarpaulin
sheeted roof and makeshift guttering near Moyale town (right).
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3.4.4 Underground Tanks
Another relatively common option is the development of underground reservoirs/tanks which are
used to facilitate longer term collection and storage of water for use during the dry season. These
tanks are developed in areas that facilitate natural catchment of runoff water, but when this water is
used up, particularly in the dry/drought period, the tanks can be filled with tanker water. Large holes
(100 to 500 cubic meters) are excavated within which underground stone tanks are built. The tanks
are covered with a stone slab, and a series of filter wells are developed in the entry channel to
facilitate de-silting of runoff. Tanks are fenced off and grass is grown in the catchment area to
facilitate further natural filtration.
Underground tanks represent a very good
option for a community water reservoir, but
only if they are well managed and maintained
and kept locked and preserved for use only at
critical periods. The tanks are relatively
expensive to develop and maintain and are
subject to silting after extended period of use,
especially if the filter wells are not regularly
cleaned out. As is the case with other run off
sources, such water sources are also
susceptible to environmental contamination
Figure 9: Underground tank near Moyale town. Catchment
area and filtration wells in foreground. Locked cement
tank in background. The tank is kept locked and used as a
strategic reserve in the dry period.
during run off collection and storage and
human contamination during storage handling
and use.
Recommendations for Water Supply Development
Communities living in Marsabit County utilise a variety of water sources to meet their water supply
needs. They tend to rely on the phased use of a combination of these sources in order to ensure a
continuum of water over the course of a full year. Existing sources however face limitations in terms
of the quantity available to serve the communities, their capacity to provide sufficient, reliable water
over the course of the year, their uneven distribution and the quality of water they avail. As a result,
user populations are faced with scarcity and stress, particularly over the long dry spell – Jalali - which
occurs from May until the start of the short rains in October. There is therefore evident need for
additional investment in and improvement of water supply infrastructure in Marsabit County.
The focus of any activities related to water supply development should however be on rehabilitating
or developing a variety of water sources within a community catchment so as to increase their
capacity, number and reliability thereby allowing communities to phase their use through the year.
This would include developing a combination of water sources and catchments (water pans, shallow
wells, and springs) for daily use as well as water storage structures (rock catchments, underground
tanks) that can be used as reservoirs to be preserved for use the dry season.
As a first step however, efforts should be made to identify which existing systems are non-functional
or performing poorly, understand the reasons why and work on rehabilitating and improving them.
This would not only be cost effective, but reduce adverse environmental effects of developing new
sources within an already fragile environment. Where new water sources are required, efforts
should focus on developing them in strategic locations e.g. along traditional migration and cattle
trading corridors, in areas where existing water sources are of particularly lower density and
unreliable, particularly in dry seasons etc. Increasing the availability of strategic sources would help
reduce the vulnerability of the pastoral populations to the effects of water scarcity and drought.
Given the potential adverse effects of water source development (sedentarisation of Nomadic
populations, pasture degradation etc.) there is however a need to thoroughly assess both the need
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for as well as the potential impacts of introducing new water sources, and both environmental as
well social impact assessments must be undertaken. To mitigate adverse effects, alternative
options, such as developing contingency water reserves (such as underground water tanks,
permanent water points/boreholes) in strategic areas to be used only during the severe dry season
and/or in the case of drought, could be considered. Where feasible, the promotion of integrated
water resource management (IWRM) principles – such as the introduction of tree planting and/or
pasture improvement programmes around the sites where water sources are being developed, or
already exist should also be considered to reduce impact of environmental degradation.
To ensure the long terms sustainability of any developed or rehabilitated infrastructure, there is
need to:



Promote meaningful engagement with the beneficiary communities during project planning,
design, implementing, monitoring and evaluation through appropriate participatory and
consultative methods such as Community Conversations (CCs), Participatory Integrated
Community Development (PICD) or Participatory Assessment for Disaster Risk (PADR).
Special attention should be made to ensure equal involvement of men, women and children
so that gender needs are considered in decision making and gender representation is
promoted in any management structures. This will allow for a better analysis of needs, and a
better understanding from local knowledge systems, enabling the definition of the most
suitable type, placement and size of water resources. Furthermore, since future use,
operation and maintenance will be a continuous process and mainly the responsibility of the
users, involving them from the onset will increase responsibility and ownership of developed
resources.
Community contribution in cash or in-kind (labour) should always be required for any
construction or rehabilitation works to instil a sense of ownership and enhance commitment
to maintaining the source beyond the project life. The issue of contribution should be taken
seriously and not just treated as a symbolic gesture. It should however be realistic, and take
in to account the means of the communities, and accompanied by effective community
mobilisation.
Appropriate water management structures – community or private sector should be
developed and their capacities developed and/or enhanced to enable them to ensure that
the water sources are effectively and transparently administered, managed, operated and
maintained. This is critical to ensure the optimal functionality of water sources throughout
the year (see more under section 7).
When rehabilitating or developing water sources there is need to adopt technical options that are
contextually appropriate and fit for purpose. In relation to this:


In terms of design, where possible the use of traditional systems for which local materials
and construction know-how are already available should be encouraged and the technical
capacity required for operation and maintenance as well as well as spare parts availability
also considered.
For water sources that are used for human and livestock consumption, designs should
ensure the effective watering of animals as well as the extraction of safe drinking water.
Open shallow wells can be rehabilitated or built to a standard that gives maximum
protection against contamination while allowing manual bulk water extraction. Separated
facilities for livestock (troughs) and human use must also be provided. Improved water pans
can be developed that either protect water for human use (through the development of
filtration galleries), protect the area used for human consumption (fencing off or siting
specific areas for human water extraction), or provide separate livestock/human facilities
(twin pans).
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


For settled community water points – where water is predominantly for human
consumption, shallow wells can be closed and fitted with a solar pump and/or minidistribution-system or hand pump, ensuring maximum protection.
For rain water harvesting, plastic tanks can be provided and promoted for water collection
since they are cheaper and faster to install and can be moved – important for mobile
communities. Non roof solutions– such as the use of tarpaulin sheets to trap rain water
could be explored as a means to better harness this technology for nomadic communities
Where feasible the development of weirs, sub surface and/or sand dams alongside strategic
shallow wells can be explored as a means to increase the amount of water and length of
time a shallow well can be exploited.
Given the inherent risks of water contamination from the water sources being used – alongside
hardware provision, efforts should focus on ensuring that water collected from these sources is
appropriately treated, handled and stored at household level to ensure that it is safe for human
consumption. This would include promotion of household water treatment options (aqua tabs/pur
sachet) as well as hygiene promotion (see more under section 4 below).
4.
Assessment of Health and Hygiene Situation in Marsabit
As noted in the sections above, while some of the water for human consumption in Marsabit County
may be centrally treated (town water supply) or come from an uncontaminated source (borehole
water) for the most part, water available and used (shallow wells/water pans) has an extremely high
risk of being contaminated and/or polluted. The water chain from source to consumption has not
been observed to be very safe, with water carrying equipment (jerry cans) not necessarily appearing
to have been cleaned and no clear separation of water for animal and human consumption.
Figure 10: Top left - Maikona man manually extracting
water from an extremely polluted shallow; Top right Bori - typical 25 litre jerry cans used to collect and store
water and are not regularly cleaned; Bottom left –
Namarrei - animal faeces in a water pan.
From a social/public health perspective,
consumption of such water can leave the user
populations at great risk from, and contribute to
the spread of water washed and water based
diseases. Diarrhea is in fact among the three most
prevalent diseases in the County. This burden of
disease not only has a negative impact on the
health and life expectancy of the community, but
also on their productivity and quality of life, substantially contributing to the situation of poverty.
During dry seasons and drought, the health impact of drinking unclean could be exacerbated leaving
already vulnerable populations at increased risk of disease outbreak.
14 | P a g e
Recognising this risk, some efforts appear to have been made to promote household water
treatment (HWT) and improved hygiene practice at a household level. In terms of HWT, principle
approaches promoted by the NGOs and Government partners appear to the use of pur sachet and
aqua tabs and of ceramic/clay filters – all of which are distributed under their programmes.
Additional HWT methods used include boiling of water (principally water used in consumption of
tea) and/or straining water through cloth prior to use12. The adoption of these HWT approaches
does however appear to be limited – according to the MICS (2008) only approximately 19% of
households in Marsabit drink appropriately treated water13.
Hygiene promotion at community level appears to be incorporated within health and nutrition
outreach activities, which often include hygiene awareness activities – particularly the washing of
hands at critical periods, accompanied with distribution of HWT options and soap. Most school
WASH programmes also appear to and include the formation of Health and Environmental clubs
through which hygiene awareness and hand washing using tippy taps and soap is promoted. The
most often cited hygiene promotion approach used is Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation
Transformation (PHAST).
Recommendations for Hygiene and Health Promotion
Given the type of water sources that are accessed and the lifestyle of the beneficiary communities’
health and hygiene promotion activities must be implemented in parallel with all water supply
projects undertaken in order to increase awareness on and improve water handling practice and
limit the exposure to associated health risk. These activities must effectively address the gaps in
hygiene and water handling practice across the whole water quality chain - from source, collection,
transportation, storage and use.
As critical step in this process initial Knowledge Attitude and Practice (pre-KAP) surveys must be
undertaken to gain an understanding of the comprehension of the communities on the cause of
their health problems, the linkage to water and of their existing health and hygiene practice. The
information would then be used to define gaps in practice, inform the development of hygiene
promotion interventions and establish a baseline against which the uptake and effect of improved
hygiene practices can be measured. Following the implementation of the project, a post KAP survey
should be undertaken to assess the impact of hygiene promotion interventions on the practice and
health status of the beneficiaries
Hygiene promotion interventions should combine demonstrations, training and distributions of HWT
options. Demonstrations could include indicator tests throughout the water supply chain to help
communities better understand how and where water gets contaminated. Streamlined, appropriate
approaches to training (the use of CLTS -see more in section 5 below, locally adapted training
materials, MPH training materials etc.) should be adopted, and awareness campaigns in the local
communities and media could also be considered. Distribution of HWT options (pur-Sachet, Aqua
tabs), water filters, soap and storage equipment (jerry-cans) should be undertaken with appropriate
user training.
Target groups should include Water User Association (WUA) and Water Service Provider (WSP) staff,
existing women and youth groups, religious and traditional leaders etc. who could become agents of
change within the wider community. Given the mobile nature of communities, sessions and
distributions should be undertaken at the water sources. Sessions should also be incorporated under
outreach activities undertaken within other programmes being implemented (e.g. health and
nutrition programmes) and as part of School WASH activities (see more under Section 6 below).
12
13
WASH Strategy CCSMKE Marsabit, Clair Simmons, Tearfund, 2011
Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), Kenya Eastern Province, Marsabit District, UNICEF, 2008
15 | P a g e
Under their Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) plans, communities can also be supported to develop their
own water safety plans, around the various water sources they used so as to empower them to
develop a plan for safe drinking water that is appropriate and achievable for them.
5.
Assessment of Sanitation Situation in Marsabit
In Marsabit, Government, NGOs and communities themselves appear to focus mainly on water
supply, with limited attention being paid to the issue of community level sanitation. As a result,
access to improved sanitation in the County is extremely low - 35.4% of households in Marsabit are
reported to have access to improved sanitation compared to a national average of 55% in urban
areas14.
While there are some households in Marsabit town with flushable toilets, for the most part, static
households either use pit latrines - usually shared, or open defecation, while nomadic communities
rely principally on open defecation in the surrounding bush/fields. Some work has been done to
support communities to develop sanitation options, either through constructing latrines or providing
inputs like slabs and material for super structures15. There also appears to be some work being
initiated to support Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS), a demand led approach that aims to
motivate communities to stop open defecation and develop their own latrines.
Such inadequate and improper disposal of human excreta poses a significant risk to the
contamination of drinking water sources as fecal matter may either seep in to the ground water
extracted through shallow wells or run in to open sources, particularly during heavy rains and
flooding. This coupled with poor personal hygiene practices and improper handling and treating of
household water can easily become an issue of significant concern and result in negative health
impacts particularly in terms of diseases like diarrhea.
The issue of solid waste management is also one of potential concern. There appear to be limited
and inadequate waste disposal systems in place. This results in the random dumping of solid waste
which, given the high winds experienced in the area, tends to get scattered around, posing a
potential threat to animal life in particular as well being an environmental concern in an already
fragile environment.
Recommendations for Sanitation Promotion
There is an evident and critical need for the issue of sanitation to be addressed to ensure
comprehensive health results and social well being for communities living in this area. It is however
increasingly understood that hardware prescriptive interventions that build or provide subsidies to
people to build latrines for themselves do not achieve the desired outcomes. Designs are often too
costly, inappropriate and adoption may be uneven and create social division. In addition, approaches
like PHAST, a participatory method using visuals to demonstrate the relationship between sanitation
and health and empower communities to improve, own and operate WASH facilities can be lengthy,
process ridden and include some relatively costly subsidy components. There has been some doubt
therefore that such approaches have the potential to promote hygiene and sanitation at a scale that
would significantly contribute to the attainment of the sanitation MDGS, progress towards which is
significantly lagging16.
In light if this it is recommended that efforts made under both sanitation and hygiene be turned
towards transforming people’s mindsets with regard to living in sanitary, hygienic environments, a
method which has proven to be the key to creating sustainable and achievable demand for
sanitation options.
14
Kenya Country Fact Sheets, Commission on Revenue Allocation, 2010
WASH Strategy CCSMKE Marsabit, Clair Simmons, Tearfund, 2011
16
www.cltsfoundation.org
15
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It is further recommended that Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) – which is one of the fastest
growing of such transformative methods in use and for which positive results have been
documented be used. CLTS has been used in Kenya since 2007 and the Ministry of Public Health and
Sanitation (MoPHS) is now convinced of its effectiveness and has adopted it as a National policy.
Some organisations in Marsabit are already using this approach and it is therefore seems that this
would represent the most effective means to improve and scale up sanitation17.
Promotion of CLTS would require dedicated leadership and technical capacity and good coordination with the Ministry of Public Health. It would involve a series of steps designed to mobilise
targeted communities to completely eliminate open defecation in their environs. This would include
a process known as triggering in which communities would be facilitated to conduct their own
appraisal and analysis of the defecation status and then take action to change the situation through
innovative and local solutions to meet their demand for latrines. In order to ensure the effectiveness
of the approach, it would be important to build in a strong sanitation marketing aspect to ensure the
communities could source construction materials locally18. This could be linked to the livelihood
activities being undertaken in the area. Finally, given the relatively low economic status of the
pastoral communities, there would need to be some analysis as to whether and how subsidies could
be extended to the most vulnerable, and criteria to define this group.
6.
Assessment of WASH in Schools and Health facilities
A good number of schools and health centres in Marsabit Country lack adequate and safe water
sources on their premises, which places significant limitations on education opportunities and health
outcomes on the students and patients. Where insufficient sources exist, school children have to
carry water with them for drinking and cooking, which results in a significant wastage of learning
time considering the time spent to collect the water and taken from morning schooling sessions to
check that students have carried adequate water. There is also the risk that water is from unclean
sources and the associated health impacts result in increased absenteeism of school children. In
health centres, the lack of clean and sufficient water sources for use by patients – particularly
women and children –limits the effectiveness of treatment provided.
For school going children, limited knowledge of good personal hygiene and poor hygiene practice
(such as hand washing with soap) also contribute to ill health, and increased absenteeism. Lack of
sufficient and private, appropriate, gender separated sanitation facilities also has significant impact
on attendance and retention rates of female students in particular, who are constrained from going
to school during their menstrual period, and may ultimately drop out completely as a result.
A number of NGOs have been working to better ensure adequate and appropriate provision of
WASH facilities and hygiene promotion activities in schools. Particular attention is being given to
supporting the development of latrines and hand washing facilities ensuring they are separated for
boys and girls. Hygiene promotion through talking walls and the development of school health clubs
has also been undertaken. Such activities represent a key means to ensure that the sanitation and
privacy needs of school going children, girls in particular, are met – a key factor to ensure their
continued enrolment in school. Where WASH facilities have been provided in schools, the
management have reported an improvement in enrolment, retention rates and performance. In
some schools, the availability of a water source has also proved an asset to the surrounding
community giving them increased access to proximal and reliable water sources and opening the
school up to the community. This has also impacted on attendance and enrolment. Additional spin
off effects have included the potential for schools to generate income as the availability of water and
sanitation facilities makes them attractive for workshops, meetings and seminars over the holiday
season. Revenues are re-invested in the maintenance of the facilities.
17
18
Scaling up CLTS in Kenya: opportunities, challenges and lessons, Samuel Musembi Musyoki
Practical Guide to Triggering Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS), Kamal Kar, 2005
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Recommendations for WASH
Schools and Health Centres
Figure 11: School WASH facilities in a school in
Maikona. Top Left: roof rainwater harvesting with a
protected plastic tank; Top right - borehole with solar
powered pump and elevated tank; bottom left - VIP
Girls toilet with hand washing facilities, disability access
and “talking walls” with key health messages.
in
There is critical need to address the
WASH issues affecting attendance,
enrolment and equal retention of girls
and boys in schools in Marsabit given
that only approximately 62% of
children of primary school age are
estimated to be attending primary or
secondary school, with male children
having an advantage over their female
counterparts - 65% versus 59%19. There
is also a need to augment WASH
facilities in health centres to increase
the impact of health and nutrition
interventions in the county.
The development of water sources in schools
and health facilities needs to be supported, in
co-ordination with on-going Education and
Nutrition progammes. Activities for both
institutions could include the development of
roof rainwater harvesting facilities and connection to proximal boreholes. For schools, the
development of boreholes or shallow wells for which extraction could be undertaken by solar pump
or hand pumps could also be supported.
Hygiene promotion activities and sessions should also be incorporated within routine health and
nutrition activities at the health centres, and sanitation facilities provided for patients.
For schools, the adapted School Led Total Sanitation (SLTS) approach could be utilised as a way to
support progressive steps towards behavioural transformation and latrine promotion in
communities, but also to ensure that school going children were guaranteed the basic elements of a
school sanitation and health education programme20. This approach would include:

Behavioural Transformation aimed igniting change in the thinking of pupils, teachers and
ultimately communities on sanitation and hygiene. This would include promotion of
personal hygiene, promotion of hand washing with soap, protection of food and water etc.
19
Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), Kenya Eastern Province, Marsabit District, UNICEF, 2008
Guidelines on School Led Sanitation, Steering Committee for National Sanitation Action Department of
Water Supply and Sewerage UNICEF, Nepal 2006
20
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


7.
Environmental Sanitation which would include activities related to cleaning of school
compounds, public spaces etc as well as the development and use of drainage and solid
waste facilities within school compounds
Provision of School Sanitation facilities that are locally adapted, gender friendly (separated
for girls and boys), child friendly and have appropriate hand washing facilities.
Promotion of open defection free communities within school catchments.
Assessment of Community Based Water Resource Management Approach
Although quite substantive investment has been made in the development of water sources for
pastoral communities in the County, in many cases, over the longer term these systems either do
not function at all or fail to function effectively and to provide adequate water supplies. While some
of the fault may lie in the improper siting of facilities, poor workmanship or unsuitable choice of
technical option (see more under section 3), one of the key challenges to the long term sustainability
of the developed water resources lies is the capacity of the pastoral communities to effectively
govern, operate, maintain, extend or construct their water infrastructure without outside assistance.
Pastoral communities have and apply their own traditional mechanisms, rules, regulations and
penalties to govern and manage the limited water resources available to them. These have evolved
over time and are in keeping with culture and tradition. Access to water is controlled by group
membership and unauthorized use may be met with persuasion, force or legal action. Altering or
replacing these mechanisms without due understanding of the factors around control and access to
water may result in an escalation of resource-based conflict21.
While these systems still apply and are adhered to, given the evolution of the social context and
the development and adoption of more modern options for water supply, there is need to develop
systems that allow for a more inclusive and effective management of water supplies.
In keeping with this and in line with the principles of devolution of management to local level
enshrined within National Water Policy (1999) and Water Act (2002), a number of institutional
arrangements have evolved in Marsabit to allow for community based operation and management
of the water services. Efforts have focused on supporting the establishment of Water User
Associations (WUAs), community based organisations licensed to manage and operate each water
source developed. To strengthen their capacity to undertake this task, WUAs have received varying
degrees of administration, management and operations (AOM) training. This does not however
appear to have been extremely effective, with insufficient cost recovery where user fees are
imposed, weak monitoring and control of free water sources and limited capacity to operate and
maintain systems. Consequently even in normal times water supply schemes face consistent
problems of poor management and frequent breakdown, a situation exacerbated during drought
and stress.
To offset these challenges, the Northern Water and Services Board (NWSB) and District Water
Authorities (DWAs) are now promoting the management of a cluster of water sources within a
Division under a single Water Service Provider (WSP), in an effort to promote economies of scale and
rationalisation of operation and management costs. This approach is still being rolled out as many
WSPs still remain to be established and licensed. Despite some success, results still remain relatively
weak. There has been significant resistance to handing over management of water sources which
represent financial and political power within communities. Additionally, communities with better
functioning sources have been reluctant to absorb the management, and problems, of less
functional sources, particularly those (pans, shallow wells) for which user fees are hard to collect and
21
Good Practice Principles Water Development in the dry lands of the horn of Africa, Michael Gitonga, FAO,
November 2011.
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which then create a drain on resources. In addition to continued challenges in effective AOM of the
water sources, WSPs have also been challenged to co-ordinate, oversee and monitor the different
sources which are quite distant from each other, given the fact that they lack sufficient assets
(vehicles, computers, phones) to facilitate this. The NWSB and DWAs have also not been able to
provide adequate support and technical assistance throughout this process. Many of the systems
therefore still remain unreliable and unsustainable.
With appropriate capacity development and support, community based management systems may
be effective for low technology community resources (traditional shallow wells or water pans), the
use of which can be overseen and reinforced by community caretakers. These models however have
inherent weaknesses that make them less suited to manage more complex systems, particularly
those for which significant cost recovery is required to be sustainable. These include: the voluntary
nature of the management structures, and the nominal fees paid to the technical operators and field
clerks, which limits the incentive to ensure cost effectiveness of the systems, community interest in
the management - to keep the price of water as low as possible, which is not linked to the actual
cost of service delivery and the attrition of trained staff, who often seek new opportunities based on
the skills they have developed.
Even if management were to be made more efficient however, many of the existing water sources –
in particular diesel driven boreholes, are extremely costly to operate and maintain. If such systems
were to be operated on cost recover principles, the impoverished beneficiary communities would be
unable to afford the true user fees.
Recommendations for Water Resource Management
There is evident need to improve on the community based water resource management approaches
being implemented in Marsabit. Activities should however be undertaken line with the on-going
evolution of institutional arrangements for administration, operation and management of the water
services, with the following approach recommended:
Selection of any water source to be developed or rehabilitated should be undertaken through
a participatory process (CC, PICD, PADR) enabling dialogue and knowledge sharing with the
beneficiary communities. This would:
 Make it possible to identify why existing systems fail or function poorly, and develop
corrective measures to address challenges faced
 Enable available technical options to be explained and discussed allowing for the selection
and design of interventions that would be most suitable and satisfy local needs
 Facilitate collective decision making which would help to strengthen responsibility for and
ownership of developed resources
Where clustering is not being undertaken, support should be given to the establishment of a Water
Users Association (WUA) to facilitate AOM of the water source. The WUA should be established,
building upon existing customary resource management systems which will provide a contextually
relevant and culturally appropriate approach to the water management. These systems would then
be strengthened in such a way as to ensure a combination of formal as well as customary
management approaches e.g. the enforcement of the Meri system for the management of water
pans (see under section 3). Relevant duty bearers with the potential to fulfil the AOM roles required
should be appointed and a suitable incentive structure developed so that their role is perceived as a
serious, formal one – by them and the community, so that they remain motivated to undertake their
roles and so that they can be held to account for their tasks. Specific efforts should be made to
ensure appropriate representation of all user groups, to ensure gender and socio-economic balances
in the management of the systems.
20 | P a g e
Where clustering is being undertaken, support should be given to facilitate the inclusion of the
developed source under the cluster being managed by the Water Service Provider (WSP) operating
in the Division.
In either case, building and enhancing the capacity of the mandated institution to operate, manage
and maintain the water sources is absolutely essential, and in order to be effective some of the
following factors should be taken in to account:
 Building technical capacity for AOM. To facilitate this, a training needs assessment should be
carried out to identify existing technical capacity, skills gaps and define the most appropriate
approach for skills transfer in relation to the literacy levels of the members. Based on these
outcomes, training sessions should be developed and delivered. A sufficient phase out
strategy must also be developed to enable adequate follow-up, additional training and
sufficient mentoring to the institutions before they are given full responsibility for managing
the systems.
 Supporting the management of the water sources on cost recovery principles. In addition to
capacity development in appropriate financial administration, this should also involve
creating awareness within communities on sustainability issues, advocating for the payment
of user fees, even for sources for that are not normally charged, and supporting the
development of fair, realistic and appropriate tariff structures.
 Recognising that even where user fees are recovered, certain sources are unaffordable for
target communities, efforts should focus on enabling and building capacity within the
institutions to advocate for and develop proposals to access resources for AOM through
government funding sources like Community Development Funds, Water Sector Trust funds
etc.
 Knowledge sharing and exchange visits between different communities, implementing
partners and government agencies should be facilitated to enable cross learning on
successfully managed water sources and help demonstrate what is possible, raise
community expectations and enhance adoption of good practice in the target area.
 Linkages could be created with spare parts supplies (local suppliers for example motor
vehicle suppliers in Marsabit or with bigger suppliers in Nairobi) to facilitate the sourcing of
critical/fast moving spare parts (particularly for boreholes/hand pumps)
 Communities should also be sensitised on the sectoral reforms with regard to management
arrangements for water sources – particularly the clustering approach - to facilitate the
establishment of WSPs for clusters
There is however need to acknowledge that while community based management systems may
represent a viable and appropriate approach for smaller rural water sources, when it comes to
managing more complex water resources - particularly boreholes - they largely fail to ensure
sustainable provision of water.
Apart from the inherent weaknesses of community based structures already mentioned, the
underlying reasons for the low success of these structures, particularly within a rural, nomadic
community, also tend to be structural:



These systems rely heavily submersible pumps and diesel driven generators for water
extraction. These assets are extremely costly to manage and complex to maintain. Spare
parts are very difficult to obtain due to the often prohibitive cost and/or distance to a
dealer.
Water user fees are also very difficult to effectively collect and transparently manage and
there is therefore poor or insufficient cost recovery
This is compounded by the fact that even if such systems were to be operated on cost
recover principles, the impoverished user communities would be unable to afford the true
user fees.
21 | P a g e
This combination of lack of means and skills and results in poor operation, maintenance, and
management of the water systems leading to insufficient cost recovery, frequent breakdowns,
longer downtime of equipment, deterioration of infrastructure and eventual collapse of systems.
It is therefore recommended that more innovative, effective and efficient options for the
management of these types of water resources be reviewed and tested. Specifically:

The feasibility of using private sector management principles to manage these rural systems
more sustainably should be assessed. Such approaches are increasingly being used to
overcome similar problems related to the management of water supplies in small towns and
urban centres in Kenya. In this particular case, a study could be commissioned to assess the
feasibility for Moyale Water Company or another established Moyle based private company
or entrepreneur to extend its services to manage a cluster of motorised/complex water
sources, alongside its core business, within a Public-Private Operation & Maintenance
(PPOM) approach. This approach has been tested in the North East Somalia rural pastoral
context with some success.

If this study proves feasible, the approach could then be piloted through the
implementation of a demonstration project within Moyale District, the experience collated,
the lessons learned analysed and a model for possible application elsewhere in Marsabit
District and other ASAL areas in Kenya be proposed
Even if management were to be made more efficient however, it must be recognised that many of
the existing diesel driven boreholes are extremely costly to operate and maintain. If such systems
were to be operated on cost recover principles, the impoverished beneficiary communities would be
unable to afford the true user fees. There is therefore need to review current technology options
and explore opportunities to replace them with or introduce more economically sustainable
solutions, such as solar and wind power.
8.
Assessment of Resilience, Emergency Preparedness and Response
Over the past decades, chronic environmental degradation and global and local climate change have
resulted in the Marsabit County becoming increasingly prone to extreme environmental conditions.
Successive seasons of below normal rainfall, followed by severe drought – as was experienced in
2009, leads to the drying up of seasonal water sources, making the already challenging water
scarcity extremely critical. This increased frequency of prolonged dry seasons and drought means
that the pastoral populations do not have sufficient time to rebuild their livestock herds between
drought episodes. The situation is worsened by the low densities of water infrastructure and high
dependence on seasonal water sources.
Given their predominant reliance on pastoral livelihoods, this situation greatly tests the coping
mechanisms of populations living in Marsabit County. Their increasing vulnerability to these shocks
to and changes in their local environment is further aggravated by the fact that their already low
capacity for food production becomes further limited by drought, which also results in a substantive
increase in local food commodity prices. As a result, the populations end up at further, critical risk to
food security and nutrition emergencies.
Historically, in non-drought years, relatively few resources have been allocated to programmes that
support the communities and households in these areas to prepare, plan for, and implement
measures that increase their resilience to drought conditions. This has severely impacted their
capacity to anticipate and limit the risk, and withstand and recover from the increasingly recurrent
droughts, subjecting a huge proportion of the population to chronic poverty. Consequently, some
areas are estimated to have over 90% of the population living below the poverty line, with no means
to support them meet their basic survival needs. This has also contributed to the further weakening
of existing traditional safety nets with more people falling into poverty as the systems are unable to
support them.
22 | P a g e
The occurrence of extreme drought, and the corresponding livelihood, food security and nutrition
emergencies inevitably necessitate a large scale emergency response, particularly in the critical
WASH sector. Given the relatively limited attention paid to emergency preparedness, particularly
developing drought resilience within communities and resilient WASH structures and approaches, a
substantive proportion of the response tends to comprise interventions like water trucking and
distribution of Non Food Items (NFIs) (buckets, soap, jerry cans and HWT options). These
interventions are extremely costly and being non–durable, have relatively limited long term impact
on water availability, sanitation coverage or improved hygiene practice, leaving the lot of
communities little improved after the crisis.
Recommendations for Resilience, Emergency Preparedness and Response
There is an urgent need to undertake initiatives to enable communities living in Marsabit County to
better anticipate, respond to and cope with the increasing occurrence of environmental shocks and
the stresses and the related emergencies.
To facilitate this, it is recommended that greater effort be made on promoting the development of
more resilient WASH facilities –sources designed to be more robust and better improve the
availability of water over space (more sources in an area leading to better access for humans and
livestock) and time (more water available to span the length of the dry season). The focus should not
only be on areas that are prone to drought, but also those where water availability is decreasing due
to increased human demand and negative environmental influences. Measures should include22:

Improvements in construction and siting of sources to ensure that they are less prone to
failure, more reliable and can be more efficiently used e.g. ensure proper construction
techniques to prevent the leaking of underground concrete tanks

Introduction of technologies that are more innovative and allow multiple use e.g. adapted,
portable rainwater harvesting systems (use of tarpaulins and smaller capacity water tanks)
for nomadic communities, development of underground tanks that can be used as
community reservoirs to store both runoff water or trucked water in extremely dry periods

Promotion of improved practice of managing a variety of water sources e.g. the use of open
water sources (pans) first, so that more is used rather than evaporated, and preserving
stored water (underground tanks) until later in the season.
Resilience of communities should also be promoted by supporting them to better anticipate, assess
and identify potential WASH related threats and risks that could affect them, and develop the
necessary contingency plans to mitigate the potential impacts.
In terms of emergency response, efforts should focus on enhancing the preparedness of the
communities and delivering more durable solutions so as to have increased impact post crisis. This
could involve the following types of activities:

Provision of water vouchers for livestock or household use, as an alternative mechanism to
water trucking. This will allow target communities to access critical water supplies from
permanent water sources during periods of extreme drought, but will also sustain regular
recovery of running costs for these water sources reinforcing the capacity of WAUs and
WSPs for continued AOM.

Distribution of critical WASH Non Food Items (NFIs) appropriate for both emergency and
longer term use: e.g. larger capacity jerry cans (25 litre) or water tanks (100 litres capacity)
that can be used for water carrying and household water storage post emergency,
distribution and promotion of ceramic water filters etc.
More information on resilient WASH techniques can be found in “Resilient techniques to improve water
availability with a focus on drought prone areas”, Fewster, Eric, October 2010.
22
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9.

Implementation of a strong emergency hygiene promotion programme to increase
knowledge and adoption of good hygiene during and post emergency

Support to livelihood initiatives as part of an emergency response e.g. provision of load
animals, carts and portable water tanks (100 - 500 litre capacity) to enable transportation of
water from distant sources during the emergency period while also providing opportunity
for household income generation through water vending post emergency

Engagement of communities involved in construction/rehabilitation activities under a
cash/food work approach
Assessment of other Relevant WASH Issues
8.1 Conflict over Water Resources
Given the level of scarcity of water and its criticality to the livelihoods of the pastoral population the
potential for dispute over this precious resource is relatively high. There is therefore a very great risk
that conflict can escalate if water sources are rehabilitated or developed and governance structures
introduced or altered without a proper understanding of the local context and dynamics.
As noted earlier (see under section 7), governance structures exist and have long been used by
pastoral communities to manage the limited water resources available to them. These are based on
established traditions and culture and provide a balance between control and access water for
livestock. When establishing structures for the operation and management of water sources
therefore, efforts must be made to understand and build upon existing customary systems which
would provide a contextually relevant and culturally appropriate approach to water management
that could help diffuse/avoid conflicts over water. There is therefore need to pay special attention to
ensuring that there is a comprehensive local stakeholder analysis, and that there is adequate
participation and representation of all the different resource users in the area, particularly
customary institutions, women, vulnerable groups and non-local pastoral groups.
Before rehabilitating or developing water resources EIAs and SIAs must also include research in to all
potential water resource users, water access patterns; water needs/demand; particular concerns
relevant to the source – e.g. balancing water extraction for water and human consumption so as to
avoid promoting conflict over developed resources.
8.2 Knowledge of Rights
To address governance challenges facing water supply and resource management, the Government,
through the Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MoWI) initiated a process of water sector reform in the
late 1990’s. Under the reforms, which are committed to the principles of good governance and a
human rights based approach (HRB) and have a long term intention to contribute to poverty
reduction in the country, there has been a progressive move to ensure that all Kenyans are
guaranteed equal, non-discriminatory right to water and sanitation services. These rights have been
enshrined in subsequent policies, laws and legislation, commencing from the Water Act (2002) and
including the National Water Services Strategy (NWSS) 2007, the National Water Resources
Management Strategy (NMRMS) (2007-2009) the National Water Resources Management Strategy
(NWRMS) (2007 – 2015) and the Water Sector Strategic Plan (WSSP). They have been further
protected under the new Constitution of Kenya (2012) and are to be advanced under Vision 2030.
While such legislation, policies and strategies represent a critical tool to ensure a human rights
based approach, entitlements to water and sanitation can only be truly realised when communities
have the knowledge, capacity and means to demand accountability of the duty bearers mandated to
deliver these services. This is particularly important for pastoral communities living in ASALs such as
Marsabit, whose critical water and sanitation needs make them particularly vulnerable and who
have historically been neglected and marginalised.
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Any effective engagement in WASH programming therefore needs to ensure a strong component to
enable improved advocacy for ASAL water needs at the national level. This should include the
implementation of activities to ensure that:

Communities and local level actors have access to adequate information on their legislated
rights to water and sanitation services, gaps in the water sector institutional set-up at a local
level, critical gaps that exist in current service delivery and the potential service delivery
models that will help address these gaps.

Communities and local level actors are enabled to formally participate in the reform,
governance and decision making process in order to ensure that WASH interventions that
are being planned, formulated and implemented capture their particular needs and
priorities.

Communities are empowered to demand improved accountability and responsiveness of the
duty bearers

Outcomes from this local level process are used to inform advocacy issues and define
appropriate interventions to ensure advocacy on the rights of pastoral communities to
access basic services at the National level.
8.4 Co-ordination
There is a locally established WESCOORD group at Marsabit level, co-chaired by the Ministry of
Water and Irrigation and Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation which is supposed to hold and be
responsible for coordination of WASH actors and interventions. The structure does not however
appear to function optimally and meetings appear to be under attended and/or subject to cancel
due to lack of quorum. This gap in co-ordination is critical for both emergency as well as regular
programming and places a number of challenges on effective WASH programming by prohibiting the
development of joint action plans, co-ordination of inputs, standardisation of approaches and
equipment, lesson learning among partners etc. Effective co-ordination is critical to ensure a
coherent approach to WASH development, and better support the development of sustainable
resources in the pastoral areas. It therefore needs to improve a lot and quickly.
While co-ordination is the mandate of the line authorities, it is recommended that any actions
possible be undertaken to improve this mechanism. This could include:
10.

Ensuring consistent and regular representation and participation at Coordination meetings
by a decision maker

Providing support to convening meetings (e.g. co-hosting or providing venues for district,
division level meetings)hosting)

Collecting and sharing critical data WASH data that can help inform interventions
Conclusion and Recommendations for Concern WASH Interventions
While there exist a multitude of factors that collectively contribute to creating and entrenching
poverty in arid and semi arid lands, a good number of them relate to deficiencies in water and
sanitation coverage and hygiene practice. Unfortunately the prevailing situation in Marsabit County,
which includes inadequate coverage, functionality and reliability of water sources, unsafe sources,
poor hygiene practice, insufficient sanitation coverage, lack of knowledge on and realisation of
WASH related rights and inability to cope with environmental stresses significantly limits the
livelihood, social development and health outcomes of the population.
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Given Concern’s continued focus on promoting improvements in the health and nutrition, livelihood
productivity and food security status of the pastoral living in ASALs over the next 5 years, and given
the central place of WASH in the social and economic development of these communities, it is
critical that the organisation expand its engagement and programming in the WASH sector.
In line with this, there is need for Concern to develop and implement a focused, effective and
comprehensive Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programme that underpins, reinforces and creates
synergies with its Food Income and Market (FIM), Education and Nutrition programming.
Given the outcomes of this assessment, in order to positively impact on the WASH situation in
Marsabit County, it is recommended that this programme focus on achieving results in the following
five key areas:





Increasing access to improved, safe, reliable water sources
Increasing awareness on and adoption of good hygiene and appropriate sanitation
Enhancing local capacity for sustainable management of water resources
Increasing the realisation of rights to water and sanitation
Improving adaptability and increasing resilience to environmental shocks and
changes
The programme should be initially implemented in the districts of Marsabit Central, Marsabit North
(Chalbi and Maikona), Moyale, Sololo, and Laisamis, where Concern is currently engaged through its
FIM and Nutrition programme. Depending on needs, access and funding, the programme should be
scaled up to cover the additional 2 districts in Marsabit County – Loiyangalani and North-Horr.
By addressing these WASH issues alongside its other work in Marsabit County, Concern should be
able to better ensure strengthened livelihoods and improved education and health outcomes for
populations living in the districts and by doing so, make a significant contribution to addressing the
high incidences of poverty and vulnerability and the limited quality of life that affect them.
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