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KenGen: We are not to blame for Garissa, Tana River floods

floods

Flooded homes at Bandi Village in Garsen, Tana River County, May 18, 2018. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | NMG

The Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) #ticker:KEGN Thursday defended itself against accusations of deliberately releasing water from the Seven Forks dams.

Corporate affairs manager Grace Chepkwony said the company was not to blame for the flooding in Garissa and Tana River counties as claimed.

“KenGen is not responsible for the flooding that has affected residents of Tana River and Garissa counties,” she said, while peaking to journalists in Laza, Tana River County.

"When floods started hitting Tana River, the Masinga Dam was half full and could not therefore be blamed for the menace.”
She said KenGen only alerted residents of an imminent rise in water levels when it became apparent that the dam could spill over due to heavy rains.

Ms Chepkwony explained that the dams do not have gates to be opened and closed at will, claiming the notion on the dams' operations was misconceived.

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Could have been worse

She said that had it not been for the Seven Forks Dams, the havoc downstream would have been worse, adding that the dams had in fact helped control flooding.

“Imagine if we did not have the dams; what would have happened downstream would be more disastrous since there would be no way of controlling the rapid flow from the highlands,” she added.

Ms Chepkwony said the river was being fed by numerous streams that do not necessarily pass through the dams, and when it rains, flooding happens even before the dams fill up.

Residents and leaders in Garissa and Tana River have been blaming KenGen for flooding in the counties, lamenting that uncontrolled release of water from the Kiambere and Kindaruma dams have resulted in heavy flooding that led to loss of lives and property.

They have equally been accusing the company of holding the water from the rivers during dry spells, interfering with the flow of water and denying residents water to carry out their agricultural activities.

Released back

However, Ms Chepkwony said the absence of the dams could have spelt doom to residents as the river would swell during heavy rains and pour water directly to the lowlands.

She said the water used to generate electricity would be released back to the rivers, and therefore claims that the company interfered with flow of water in the rivers were not true.

Her sentiments were also supported by Gitaru dam engineer Stephen Kereri who said the Masinga dam was a man-made lake on its own, holding back about 1.5 billion cubic metres of water received from rivers.

Mr Kereri said had it not been for the dams, Tana River and Garissa “would be singing a different song.”

He said there is need to have two more dams downstream to help in controlling excess flow of water from other river sources.

Ms Chepkwony, who was accompanied by an engineer at the Gitaru Hydroelectric Dam, Mr Stephen Kireri, had earlier paid a courtesy call on Tana River County Commissioner Onging’oi ole Sosio, where the engineer took the administrator through the operations of the dams.

The team then proceeded to the Laza IDP camp where they distributed foodstuffs to flood victims.