The project emerges at a time when the world is facing an unprecedented water crisis: more than half of Africa’s population lives under severe water stress, and in regions such as eastern Kenya, the combination of prolonged droughts, degraded aquifers and collapsing systems intensifies human and productive vulnerability. This global context reveals a deeply strained water market, where more than 40% of rural infrastructures in East Africa operate below capacity and where demand vastly exceeds availability.
In the Tana River basin, this reality manifests in communities walking several kilometers to unsafe sources, municipalities relying on boreholes that operate only a few days per month, and systems that lose annually volumes equivalent to the consumption of tens of thousands of households.
Faced with this structural breakdown, the project establishes a clear strategic objective: to transform failing systems into a resilient, modern network powered by clean energy, capable of providing continuity, quality and traceability. Its purpose lies in reversing accumulated deterioration, reducing dependence on contaminated sources and restoring the functionality of critical assets in a region where every liter determines well-being, health and stability.
The intervention is located in the counties of Tharaka Nithi, Kitui and Garissa, territories marked by cyclical droughts and aquifers with increasing salinity problems, integrated into a strategic national water corridor. Its execution involves the local operator, technology providers specialized in solar systems and telemetry, the structurer responsible for design and technical oversight, and the independent verifying entity in charge of validating results.
All of them participate in a model aligned with the Water Positive vision, supported by the principles of additionality, traceability and intentionality: every additional cubic meter generated or substituted is measured, verified and rigorously attributed. Its contribution to Volumetric Water Benefits allows the precise quantification of how much safe water is returned to the system, creating a direct bridge between local action and global objectives of water resilience and climate justice.
The project emerges from a precise technical and strategic opportunity: the real possibility of transforming a fragmented, inefficient and vulnerable water system into a modern, reliable model oriented toward verifiable results. The region faces significant losses caused by mechanical failures, boreholes producing only a fraction of their capacity, increasing salinization and dependence on contaminated surface sources. Added to this are structural causes such as decades of insufficient investment, lack of professional maintenance, costly and unstable diesel pumping and regulations that do not always guarantee rural service continuity. This combination has generated a progressive deterioration cycle that compromises health, productivity and community climate adaptation capacity.
The technical proposal directly addresses this gap through an integrated intervention: deep rehabilitation of boreholes, installation of high-efficiency solar systems, deployment of telemetry for continuous control and construction of recharge structures that increase natural water availability. Thanks to these actions, the transformed volume becomes tangible: more safe water, greater continuity and the immediate substitution of unimproved sources. Emissions reduction is direct through the elimination of diesel use, while hydrological regeneration is reinforced through the infiltration induced by sand dams and the protection of springs.
The project becomes viable through the articulation of specialized actors: a developer with experience in water resilience, local operators responsible for daily management, technological providers supplying solar and monitoring systems and an independent verifying entity accrediting each result under international standards. This institutional architecture ensures transparency, technical rigor and a clear strategic return.
Its replicability is based on proven technologies, reduced operating costs and a performance-based contractual model, enabling deployment across numerous semi-arid basins facing similar issues. Acting now is essential, as the combination of prolonged droughts and weakened aquifers narrows the window of opportunity each year. Companies with ambitious sustainability, ESG compliance and climate leadership goals find in this model a platform to differentiate themselves, gain visibility and anticipate new regulatory requirements while driving a water transformation that transcends the short term and consolidates environmental, economic and reputational benefits.
The implementation of the project is built on a hybrid solution that integrates grey infrastructure for rehabilitation and modernization with nature-based interventions aimed at recharge and source protection, complemented by a digital layer of continuous monitoring. The technology employed includes mechanical and electrical rehabilitation of boreholes, installation of high-efficiency solar systems, construction of sand dams with infiltration galleries, protection of vulnerable springs and incorporation of telemetry for flow, quality and functionality control. This combination was selected after evaluating alternatives such as expanded use of conventional treatment plants, extension of surface-water intakes or mobile solutions; however, technical analysis showed that in arid regions with saline aquifers and high hydrological variability, the most efficient strategy is to reduce failures, increase local recharge and ensure continuous energy supply, making this hybrid solution the most resilient and cost-effective.
The project operates with significant transformative capacity: rehabilitated boreholes increase daily safe extraction volumes, recharge structures expand seasonal availability and telemetry optimizes management for more than two hundred thousand beneficiaries. This modernized infrastructure directly targets issues such as inefficiency losses, contamination from unsafe sources, recurrent technological failures and increasing saline intrusion. Its suitability to the context is based on energy efficiency, scalability, economic viability, environmental impact and compatibility with national water regulations.
Quantifiable benefits include additional volumes of safe water, higher infiltration rates, reduced emissions due to diesel elimination, reduced collection times and verifiable improvements in quality parameters. Environmentally, the project reduces pressure on surface sources, enhances ecosystem resilience and decreases exposure to contaminants. Socially, it strengthens public health, food security, equitable access and territorial stability. Economically, it generates operational savings, stabilizes supply costs and provides reputational value aligned with ESG commitments. Its connection with Water Positive and the VWBA framework is expressed in measurable benefits that meet additionality, are traceable through telemetry and are intentional by design.
Regarding risks, the project identifies potential technological failures, extreme hydrological variability, community acceptance challenges or fluctuations in water quality. Mitigation measures include redundancy in critical equipment, operational contingency plans, shared governance with local actors, scheduled preventive maintenance, strict sanitary surveillance protocols and alert systems anticipating contamination, scarcity or saline intrusion. Long-term resilience is ensured through modular design, continuous monitoring, operational flexibility and integration of natural infrastructure that buffers climate impacts.
Finally, the solution is highly scalable to other semi-arid basins in East Africa, regions with non-functional boreholes or zones where diesel energy limits continuity. Replicability depends on minimum technical conditions such as aquifer availability, community acceptance, favorable regulatory frameworks and institutional partnerships. Competitiveness is demonstrated through a strong cost-benefit ratio, low OPEX, measurable results and integration into public-private models capable of rapid, transparent expansion.
The implementation of the project is organized into progressive and adaptive phases that address the technical complexity of the water system and ensure long-term operational sustainability. The process begins with an exhaustive diagnostic stage where the baseline is established through measurements of water quantity and quality, evaluation of mechanical and electrical functionality of boreholes, energy analysis of pumping systems and hydrogeological characterization of each intervention point. This phase incorporates initial monitoring using flow meters, laboratory sampling, online sensors and historical extraction records, defining the key performance indicators that will serve as reference for comparing the with- and without-project scenarios.
Once the diagnostic phase is completed, a detailed design stage follows, where rehabilitation requirements are modeled, solar systems are sized, telemetry components are selected and optimal sites for sand dams, infiltration and spring protection are identified. This stage incorporates criteria related to efficiency, hydraulic stability, compatibility with local conditions and climate-resilience standards. The installation phase then proceeds with mechanical and electrical repairs, replacement or upgrading of pumps, integration of photovoltaic modules, construction of recharge structures and installation of IoT systems, multiparameter probes and SCADA equipment for remote control.
Commissioning is carried out through load testing, verification of flow and pressure, quality analysis, comparison with the baseline and operational adjustments to stabilize performance. Following this phase, continuous operation begins under results-based contracts that link payment to verified additional volumes and sustained improvement in functionality and quality parameters. During this stage, automatic alarm systems detect deviations, monthly performance reports are generated, annual external audits are conducted and independent validations ensure strict compliance with VWBA and WQBA methodologies.
Control and traceability are guaranteed through georeferencing of all assets, integration of data into digital platforms and continuous recording of flow, pressure, solar production and water quality. Physical traceability is ensured through defined origin-to-destination routes for water, while digital traceability is reinforced through SCADA, IoT dashboards, cloud storage and secure reporting for the structurer, water authority and external verifier.
Governance is structured around a technical operator responsible for daily operation, a community or municipal entity overseeing social supervision, a technology provider in charge of specialized maintenance, a structurer coordinating traceability and compliance and an external verifier validating results. Operational and use agreements establish clear responsibilities for preventive maintenance, critical repairs, continuous monitoring, emergency protocols and alert communication.
The monitoring system integrates indicators related to VWBA/WQBA such as additional volumes produced, water regenerated or infiltrated, avoided emissions and improved quality parameters. Comparison between the with-project and without-project scenarios is conducted through longitudinal KPI analysis supported by instrumental data and external verification. Continuous improvement is ensured through periodic operational adjustments, data-driven feedback, technological upgrades of sensors and pumps and planned renewal of critical equipment to secure long-term permanence of benefits.
The project is conceived as an integrated intervention that spans from the deep rehabilitation of critical infrastructure to the incorporation of nature-based solutions and advanced monitoring systems, all aimed at restoring and expanding safe and sustainable water access in one of the country’s most vulnerable basins. The technical action focuses on recovering and modernizing 60 boreholes through mechanical and electrical repairs, replacing diesel pumping systems with high-efficiency solar modules, constructing recharge structures such as sand dams and infiltration galleries and protecting strategic springs to stabilize their contribution to the aquifer. These elements are complemented by a digital telemetry and IoT system that enables continuous tracking of flows, pressure, dynamic levels, energy production and water quality, ensuring full traceability from abstraction to end user.
The solution was chosen after evaluating alternatives such as advanced treatment plants, expanded surface-water intakes or water trucking, all of which proved less efficient, more expensive or unsuitable for the hydrogeological and climatic context. Instead, the hybrid approach adopted offers greater resilience, continuity and adaptability in a territory marked by hydrological variability, degraded soils and aquifers prone to salinization. The technical process operates in sequential stages: exhaustive diagnosis, detailed design, installation, commissioning, continuous operation and external validation; all implemented under national standards, WHO guidelines and internationally applied water-safety principles.
The relevance of the project lies in its capacity to reverse the main drivers of hydrological deterioration in the basin: obsolete infrastructure, recurrent interruptions, contaminated sources, low energy efficiency and constant pressure on weakened aquifers. The difference between the baseline and the with-project scenario is substantial: systems that once operated intermittently and generated marginal volumes now provide safe and continuous supply, while newly created natural infrastructure promotes recharge and buffers the effects of prolonged droughts. The approach is particularly suitable for this context due to its low operating cost, compatibility with local socio-environmental conditions and ability to generate quantifiable benefits in water supply, avoided emissions, public health and territorial stability.
Expected results include hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of additional or recovered safe water annually, significant improvements in quality parameters such as coliforms, turbidity or salinity and a notable reduction in emissions associated with diesel pumping. In parallel, recharge structures contribute to biodiversity enhancement, stabilization of ecological flows and strengthening of food security by expanding areas suitable for domestic and productive use. Socially, the project reduces collection times, strengthens community health and improves territorial equity in water access.
Strategically, the intervention fully aligns with the Water Positive roadmap by generating additional, measurable and verifiable volumetric benefits that meet the principles of additionality, traceability and intentionality under the VWBA framework. It provides tangible ESG value by improving social license to operate, demonstrating regulatory compliance, strengthening institutional reputation and offering an example of just water transition aligned with global commitments such as the SDGs, SBTi for Water, NPWI and European ESRS E3 standards. Its technical and social structure enables replication in other semi-arid basins, rural systems with non-functional boreholes or productive sectors facing high water pressure, provided minimum conditions of community acceptance, local governance and baseline infrastructure exist. The coordinated participation of operators, communities, local governments and technology companies facilitates expansion and ensures the model can scale in an orderly and verifiable manner.
The project’s final impact translates into a direct contribution to the basin’s water balance, enhanced resilience to climate change and structural strengthening of the water systems that support livelihoods, health and social stability. Beyond its immediate results, the project sends a clear message to investors, clients and society: it is possible to transform fragile systems into regenerative networks that protect critical resources and pave the way toward a smarter, more responsible and more equitable water economy.
