About National Water
Who we are
The Water Act No. 43 of 2016 came into effect on 21st April, 2017 and therein established the National Water Harvesting & Storage Authority. (NWHSA)
Our Mandate
Undertake on behalf of the national government, the development of national public water works for water…
Our Projects
“Developing and managing national water works infrastructure towards enhancing water security, flood mitigation and storage for multipurpose use.”
Latest News
March 25, 2025This year’s World Water Day was held at St. Joseph’s Tigithi Boys High School in Narumoru, Laikipia County with the theme; “Glacier Preservation,”
The World Meteorological Organization and UNESCO define a glacier as a large accumulation of mainly ice and snow, that originates on land and flows slowly through the influence of its own weight. Glaciers are found on every continent. They exist in many mountain regions and around the edges of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. There are more than 275 000 glaciers in the world, covering an area of around 700 000 km². Glaciers are considered as important water towers, storing about 170 000 km3 of ice, which amounts to approximately 70% of the global freshwater. Glaciers are a source of life, providing freshwater to people, animals and plants alike.
Through this theme, the United Nations declared 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation. Additionally, 21st March of each year has been proclaimed as the World Day for Glaciers starting in 2025. Without a doubt, the theme has provided and opportunity and platform to create awareness on the role of glaciers in water conservation especially in the wake of the effects of climate change.
According to the United Nations, glaciers store approximately 70 percent of the world’s freshwater hence the need to safeguard these vital natural reservoirs. Due to climate change, glaciers have continued to diminish at alarming rates around the world since the mid-19th century. This has been occasioned by global warming resulting from increased atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions.
The Cabinet Secretary for Water, Sanitation and Irrigation Eng. Eric Mugaa led the water sector and the public in celebrating this great day at Tigithi Boys school in Laikipia. Eng. Mugaa reiterated the role of glaciers noting that runoff from glaciers, snow and ice are essential for drinking water, irrigation, industry and clean energy production. It also helps in groundwater recharge thus contribute to sea level rise.
Prior to the event, the water sector institutions engaged in a tree planting exercise as part National Tree Growing and Restoration Campaign; a presidential directive to grow 15 billion trees by 2032, aiming to increase tree cover from 12% to 30%
The CS was accompanied by PS State Department for Water and Sanitation Julius Korir, CBS, Water Secretary Eng. SAO Alima, The Laikipia County government team was led by H.E Governor Joshua Irungu. Also present was the area MP Hon. Mwangi Kiunjuri.
The Authority also participated in the exhibition during the event where staff interacted with stakeholders to share information on its mandate, achievements, projects among others. The Authority’s team was led by Chairman CPA Symon Kimaru, Board of Directors, Ag. CEO Eng. Julius Mugun and staff. [...]
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March 24, 2025The Cabinet Secretary for Water, Sanitation & Irrigation Eng. Eric Mugaa officiated the launch of the National Irrigation Sector Investment Plan (NISIP) at KICC on 21st March, 2025 on behalf of His Excellency Dr William Samoei Ruto, C.G.H.,
Anchored on the theme; “Accelerating Investment in Irrigation for Food Security and Socioeconomic Empowerment.” The National Irrigation Sector Investment Plan (NISIP) 2025 – 2035 is a ten-year blue print whose primary goal is to establish a well-coordinated investment and financing framework for the irrigation sector.
The plan is a framework that aims to enhance and unlock the potential and opportunities of irrigation in the country. While developing this plan, we mapped out and brought on board all our stakeholders starting from the farmers, county governments, government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), development partners and the private sector.
NISIP has five Strategic Pathways, these are:
Opportunities for Corporate Agribusiness and Public Financing aimed at addressing funding gaps to make projects viable.
Expanded Farmer-Led Irrigation: Supporting large-scale irrigation expansion to benefit more farmers.
High-Performing Public Schemes: Focusing on improving service delivery in existing public irrigation projects.
Revitalization of Irrigation in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs): Ensuring food and fodder production for vulnerable pastoralist communities through water harvesting from seasonal rivers (laggas).
Maximized Community Scheme Benefits: Strengthening community-based irrigation governance to ensure sustainability and developing new community-driven irrigation projects.
The Key objectives of the Investment Plan are:
Enhance strategic alignment of Government investments
Optimize the allocation of resources
Enhance coordinated action among multiple stakeholders
Mitigate risks associated with complex development challenges
Ensure evidence-based decision-making
Broaden the opportunities for capacity building
Prioritize investments that can generate long-term positive impact,
Enhance accountability and transparency in Government investments
Prior to the launch, the Principal Secretary, State Department for Irrigation led delegates in the pre-launch activities which comprised of presentations on irrigation investment opportunities and panel discussions with key stakeholders.
Present during the launch were the PS State Department for Irrigation; CPA Ephantus Kimotho, Governor for Turkana County; Hon. Jeremiah Ekamais Napotikan, Chief Executive Officer Equity Group Holdings; Dr. James Mwangi, immediate President Alliance for a green Revolution in Africa (AGRA); Dr. Agnes Kalibata MR. Saroj Kumar Jha, Global Director for the world Bank Group’s Water Global Practice (GP) and Mr. Alexander Fierley Deputy Ambassador, embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Also present was the Authority’s Chairman CPA Symon Kimaru, Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officers from NWHSA AND NIA Eng. Julius Mugun and Charles Muasya respectively among other senior officials and stakeholders.
NISIP Launch [...]
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March 14, 2025The Cabinet Secretary for Water, Sanitation & Irrigation Eng. Eric Mugaa inspected the secondary dyke along River Nzoia in Budalang’i, Busia County on 13th March, 2025. The 300m section of the Musoma extension dyke, recently launched by the President is completed in time before the onset of the long rains and will mitigate the lake backflow menace preventing flooding of arable farms, protect schools, shopping centers, churches and fish landing bay from lake backflow.
Eng. Mugaa assured the community that, together with Hon. Wanjala, they will pursue the matter of supplementary budget to ensure the last section of 700m is constructed to ensure safety of the affected homes. On the request for a ramp, he instructed the Authority to make sure it was factored in the next contract of works.
On his part, Hon. Wanjala thanked the Authority for the good work so far executed. He echoed sentiments by the CS on resource mobilization and assured both the Authority and community of his pursuit on the same to cover the remaining distance. He further appreciated the Authority for having stood with the community for the last ten years, with an intensive flood control program that has seen tremendous achievements. He promised to continue supporting the institution in resource mobilization. He reminded the CS of the need for a dredger to desilt the river mouth to ensure fast flow of water to the lake.
This dyke will protect residents of Musoma village, Musoma Primary School, Mau Mau Center, Abandon Fish Collection Centre, Musoma Shopping Centre, Mabinju fish market, and AIC Church Musoma including the neighboring areas from the back flow of the lake.
The CS was accompanied by the area MP Hon. Raphael Wanjala, Authority’s team led by the Chairman CPA Symon Kimaru, CEO Eng. Julius Mugun, Bunyala Sub County Deputy County Commissioner, among other senior officers.
CS in River Nzoia dyke 2 [...]
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March 3, 2025The Authority signed a framework of collaboration with Dredge Masters Kenya on desilting of dams and dredging rivers prone to floods on 28th of February, 2025.
Areas of collaboration include planning, execution, and management of water infrastructure projects to enhance water storage, flood control, and environmental sustainability. The two institutions recognize the critical need for sustainable development of water reservoirs to increase water storage capacities for multipurpose use, thereby enhancing water and food security while mitigating the adverse effects of drought and floods.
Speaking during the meeting, Authority’s Chairman CPA Symon Kimaru said the two parties will leverage their respective expertise and resources in dredging operations, land reclamation, and other specialized civil works in the projects that the Authority is implementing particularly in flood control.
“With the effects of climate change, there is need to adopt use of technology and comprehensive catchment-oriented approach so as to mitigate against effects of floods through enhanced partnerships and collaboration” CPA Kimaru.
Authority’s Ag. CEO Eng. Julius Mugun, said Sedimentation in rivers is one of the main causes of floods especially in major rivers of Nyanza like river Nyando and Nzoia. The sediments gradually raise the riverbed & reduce the river’s capacity to hold and channel water in its course. Dredging will therefore alleviate this problem and restore their natural courses hence mitigate against the effects of floods.
Eng. Mugun reiterated the Authority’s mandate to harvest and store water for irrigation and multi-purpose use noting that most dams especially colonial dams have silted and resulted in less storage capacity. He cited Kiserian dam whose original capacity is 1.2 Million cubic meters (1.2 billion liters) that now holds less than a million cubic meters due to sedimentation.
“Dredging mitigates flood risks by restoring river channels and beds hence increasing water flow, clearing debris, protecting communities and the environment. This is instrumental in rehabilitation of dams to enhance their performance and storage capacity.” Eng. Julius Mugun
Dr. Samanjit; Chief Operating Officer Dredge Masters representing the Group Chairman said they shall provide specialized training and knowledge transfer to NWHSA personnel on dredging techniques and modern water infrastructure management while continuously upgrading and maintaining technical equipment to ensure optimal performance in all project activities.
On his part Dredge Masters Managing Director, Capt. Ansar Khan noted that the framework will pave way for collaboration in rehabilitation and maintenance of existing water infrastructures to ensure long-term reliability. He added that the two institutions will pursue any additional collaborative initiatives aimed at advancing the development and management of water infrastructure.
collaboration with dredge masters [...]
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February 26, 2025Cabinet Secretary for Water, Sanitation and Irrigation Eng. Eric Mugaa received the EACC Report on Compliance Risk Monitoring in the Development and management of Dams at the Kenya Water Institute on 25th February this year.
The Commission conducted Compliance Monitoring on the implementation of the dam projects at the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation in 2024 with the main objective to entrench integrity and accountability in the planning, development, implementation and utilization of the projects.
The report focused on key areas like the operating environment which entail Governance tools, institutional and administrative arrangements, management of natural water resources, project initiation, dam construction and management and utilization of dams.
Water CS Eng. Eric Mugaa while receiving the EACC report said checks and balances start with personal responsibility where he urged officials in the sector to embrace honesty, transparency, integrity in their operations while giving value for money when implementing projects.
He urged members to be good stewards of public resources adding that the Ministry welcomes the report and will take action on the recommendations to mitigate against any risks and ensure successful implementation of projects.
PS Water and Sanitation committed that the Ministry will work closely with EACC on corruption prevention in the sector. He noted that the Ministry has put in place legal frameworks through the water reforms of 2002 and the Water Act 2016 which define clear roles of the water agencies to prevent overlapping mandates.
EACC Commissioner Dr. Cecilia Mutuku reiterated the preventive approach that puts in place strategies to assess risks and implement appropriate risk mitigation measures while entrenching good governance before, during and after the project implementation.
The CS was accompanied by PS State Department for Water and Sanitation Julius Korir, CBS, Water Secretary Eng. SAO Alima, Authority’s Chairman CPA Symon Kimaru, Ag. CEO Eng. Julius Mugun among other sector CEOs, HODs and Corruption Prevention champions.
The EACC team present were Commissioner Dr. Cecilia Mutuku, Mr. Vincent Okong’o; Director, Preventive Services of the Ethics and Anti- Corruption and Ms. Sophia Muturi representing EACC’s Deputy Director, Preventive Services among other senior officials. Also present were members of the Corruption Prevention Committee from the Authority led by the Ag. CEO Eng. Julius Mugun.
EACC report on dams [...]
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February 18, 2025Flood control is one of the key mandates. We have put in place several flood control systems across main rivers that are prone to floods in the country. Flood control work involves:
• Construction of earth and gabion dykes
• Raising heights of existing dykes along various Rivers
• River drainage channels
• Seepage control on rivers
• River bank stabilization on rivers
• Construction of water pans
• Construction of check dams
• Dredging and drainage of storm water in rivers
Kapsitii Flood Control Works, where we are currently constructing a gabion dyke at 15-meter intervals, covering a total distance of 450 meters to control floods caused by storm water run-off, is well underway. Located in Sigowet – Soin Sub-County, Kericho County, in a community with a population of approximately 2,000 people, and has suffered severe effects of flush floods, these intervention measures are timely. The hilly terrain contributes to flooding and soil erosion, particularly in the lower-lying areas of Kericho and Kisumu counties.
The Authority has ensured substantial work has been done, and today, the general progress stands at 72%. The contractor is busy filing the gabion boxes with rocks/ boulders; with a target of constructing 3No. gabion wall stations per day which is equivalent to 72 gabion boxes per day.
In addition, having recognized the area as severely impacted with extensive soil erosion and has stripped much of the land of its top fertile layer, leading to significant land degradation, the Authority is making good use of the rains to plant trees along the area for land restoration.
One of the Authority’s main mandates is flood control. We are therefore committed to this key function that is very critical to the protection of lives, property, public and private infrastructure from the disastrous effects of floods.
The Authority has constructed and maintained several flood control structures which are key in the social-economic development and improvement of livelihoods. Areas protected against floods enjoy bumper harvests and other benefits from farm activities, learning is not interfered by floods and most importantly, residents are no longer displaced during flooding seasons.
With the effects of climate change, there is need to allocate more financial resources for the projects for the Authority to cover more areas and prevent floods especially along our major rivers across the country.
Kapsitii flood control [...]
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National Water Harvesting & Storage Authority
REHABILITATION OF RIVER NZOIA (MUSOMA EXTENSION DYKE) COMPLETED The National Water Harvesting & Storage Authority has completed the construction of earmarked works along River Nzoia
National Water Harvesting & Storage Authority
Authority's Ag. Chief Executive Officer Eng. Julius Mugun today led members of the Authority's Corruption Prevention Committee in attending a training whose aim is to
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The Principal Secretary for State Department for Water and Sanitation Julius Korir met the Authority's management led by the Ag. Chief Executive Officer Eng. Julius
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WATER AND SANITATION INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2025 The Authority team is proud to participate in the Kenya Water and Sanitation Conference & Exhibition 2025,
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Happy Father’s Day Today we celebrate all fathers the strong foundation of our families and communities. Your love, strength, and guidance inspire us every day.
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EUROPEAN BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT (EBRD) COUNTRY ASSESSMENT MEETING A team from the Authority held a successful meeting with the European Bank for Reconstruction
National Water Harvesting & Storage Authority National Water Harvesting & Storage Authority added 12 new photos from June 11 at 5:16 AM.
DAY TWO OF THE AFRICA PUBLIC SERVICE DAY. Today's discussions centered on Leveraging digitalization to enhance access to information and accountability where areas of focus
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Join us in celebrating Africa Public Service Day 2025 from 10th to 12th June at KICC, Nairobi. This year’s theme focuses on “Enhancing the agility
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As we mark this sacred occasion of Eid-Ul-Adha, the National Water Harvesting & Storage Authority sends warm wishes of peace, prosperity, and togetherness. May this
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