K F S Headquarters Gets A Borehole

Eng. Musyoka on site

The drilling rig

The first burst of water

It is obvious that the Service is on an ‘intense maendeleo streak’, since in the past several months, several projects have been running concurrently at the KFS Headquarters.  In yet another one of its projects, The Kenya Forest Service Headquarters is in the process of drilling a borehole just next to the Headquarters Complex with the help of a Contractor namely Hydro Water Well (K) Co. a leading supplier in water management.

According to the Drilling Engineer on site Mr. Paul Musyoka, the work which is ongoing will take approximately 15 days to be complete and functional. This will include water sampling until they get it right. This will then be followed by Equipping which will involve the construction of the tank, laying of pipes, pumping of the water to the tank(s), and finally the distribution of the precious commodity to the residents of Karura.

Engineer Musyoka says it takes several steps before of the borehole drilling can commence. First, a Hydro geological survey is carried out to determine whether there is water at the proposed drilling site. Then Authority for drilling and license are sought from the NEMA and WARMA Departments respectively.

This is definitely a plus to the management of the KFS as they have seen the need and  a gap that needed filling  i.e the persistent water shortages in the Headquarters and its environs occasioned by the current drought and the ongoing constructions on Thika Road.

The water will also come in handy for the nurseries and young plants that are in dire need of water for sustainable growth bearing in mind that the weather conditions are currently intolerable for them without water.  

The residents of Karura who mostly include members of staff  have  lauded the efforts that the KFS management  have shown following long spells without water forcing them to get the resource from the neighboring communities  i.e the CID Headquarters and the ‘Gitathuro River’ which is sometimes not fit for human consumption.

At the end of the day, the management will cut on costs and the need to ‘spare’ the resource because we have an unlimited supply at our backyard.

Report by Rahab Gitau