Leading water and solar equipment manufacturer, Davis and Shirtliff, has partnered with the Athi Water Services Board (AWSB) on a Sh46 million project to provide 16 mobile containerised water treatment units. The units will be used during emergency situations, such as drought and flooding, during which there is limited access to clean, safe drinking water.
The increasing unreliability of rainfall forces residents in water scarce counties to travel longer distances in search of the commodity often from uncertified sources. In the event of heavy flooding, the destruction of water supply infrastructure and contamination exposes residents to water diseases, such as cholera.
“One of the major challenges that we is ensuring access to clean and safe water during adverse weather conditions, such as short heavy rains and prolonged droughts. To plug the gap in supply, we have had to source for alternatives to the traditional sources of water which have become unreliable,” said Eng. John Muiruri, Chief Manager, Capital Planning and Engineering Services at AWSB.
Davis and Shirtliff was awarded the contract to deliver deliver cost-effective mobile water treatment units able to process virtually any kind of polluted raw water into clean drinking water through the use of reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration technologies. “Within a very short period, the equipment can be assembled for use even in the most remote of locations to treat either saline, turbid or highly mineralized water. With the solar and diesel electric generators options provided with the mobile water treatment units, sophisticated electricity provision will not hamper water provision efforts,” said Alec Davis, CEO of Davis and Shirtliff.
Of the 16 mobile containerized water treatment units supplied to by Davis and Shirtliff, 10 run on solar and are rated to produce 600 litres of clean drinking water in an hour and are best suited for communities in rural areas due to its portability. The remaining six are operated by diesel generators that recharge a battery bank for alternate use and produce clean drinking water at a rate of 5,000 litres per hour to larger communities.
As the provision of basic services is under the management of county governments, AWSB will hand over the mobile water treatment units to governors in its areas of jurisdiction, which include Kajiado, Machakos, Kitui, Makueni, Nairobi and Kiambu, and will be in operation before the end of the year. “Providing Kenyans access to clean and safe water is now a function of devolved governments. As a water services provider, on this occasion we step in to build the capacity of the county governments to integrate innovation in water solutions,” said Eng. John Muiruri.
Through the mobile water treatment units, AWSB will provide residents with clean and safe drinking water at a cost of not more than two shillings for 20 litres.
