Water, Sanitation and Irrigation conference was held on 8th May, 2025 at Radisson Blu, Nairobi Upper hill. The event was organized by our parent Ministry of Water, Sanitation & Irrigation in partnership with Nation Media Group. The theme of the conference was;
Sustainable water management, sanitation, climate resilience, and irrigation solutions.
In his keynote address, the Cabinet Secretary for Water, Sanitation and Irrigation Eng. Eric Mugaa reiterated the role of water harvesting and storage to achieve universal coverage.
“Despite a modest increase in water storage, with 35 million cubic metres achieved against a 2024 target of 200 million, the Ministry remains focused on reaching 14 billion cubic metres by 2030.” Eng. Mugaa
The CS was accompanied by Principal Secretaries for Water, Sanitation, Mr. Julius Korir, CBS and Irrigation Principal Secretary CPA Ephantus Kimotho, CBS along with key stakeholders from across the country.
The Principal Secretary for Water and Sanitation Mr. Julius Korir echoed the sentiments of conference participants where he emphasized the need to foster collaboration, drive innovation, and transform how the Ministry manages these vital resources in the face of climate change, growing demand, and evolving community needs and demands.
Irrigation PS, Ephantus Kimotho reiterated the instrumental role of Irrigation Management where improved irrigation management practices, such as efficient water delivery systems, enhances water productivity. He added that combining agriculture and solar energy production can maximize land use and promote sustainable food production.
Discussions centered on Water Resource Management which involves strategies to harness and maximize the use of available water resources such as rainwater harvesting, soil moisture conservation, and water-efficient agriculture. Nature-Based Solutions such as utilizing natural systems like wetlands and forests for water storage and filtration is key in enhancing water security and climate resilience.
To establish frameworks for coordination between different levels of government, Inter-governmental Coordination is essential for effective water management. further, there is need to implement Climate-Resilient Water Safety Plans to safeguard water supply infrastructure from climate-related risks like floods and droughts.
As the Authority mandated to undertake on behalf of the National Government, the development of national public water works for water resources storage and flood control; we are looking forward to sharing great ideas with our stakeholders to help us improve access to water, sanitation, Irrigation and control floods.
