Kenya fights climate change with Danish water technology

The official opening of the water project in Manyatta marks the final implementation of 13 water projects by the private company Grundfos LIFELINK with funding from the Danida REACT Fast Start Climate Change Programme.

- Partnerships across sectors and across continents are crucial in finding solutions to the challenges of lack of water that also affect many people in Kenya. This innovative approach from Grundfos is a promising example of how the private sector can contribute with sustainable solutions, Ida Auken says.

Intelligent system
The communities pay for the water in a closed payment system based on M-PESA. The water consumption finances a 10 year service and maintenance carried out by the service team from Grundfos LIFELINK. Therefore, the water project will not only be environmentally sustainable through solar energy, but also continue to supply clean water to the communities for many years ahead, thereby enabling the communities to continue their living in spite of climate changes.

- The 13 beneficiary communities have now been relieved of the daily stress of walking long distances to fetch water from scarce and often polluted rivers and earth dams. With reliable access to clean water from the borehole projects the communities are now experiencing a radical improvement of health, which enables the children to improve their school attendance, says Louise Koch, Programme Manager for Grundfos LIFELINK. She explains that according to community members in Manyatta, the livestock is healthier and produce more milk than before, even during dry season.

Rapid implementation and long term sustainability
In April 2011, Grundfos LIFELINK was granted 39 million KES from the Danida REACT programme for the implementation of 13 sustainable water projects in Kenya. Eight months later, all 13 projects were implemented, providing access to safe water every day for more than 20,000 people in the districts of Machakos and Yatta in Kenya.
The key objective of the REACT programme is to involve the private sector in fighting the effects of climate changes by bringing innovative climate change technologies to rural people in Kenya. The Grundfos LIFELINK system is an innovative solution for water supply management that includes proven pump technology driven by solar energy, and a unique solution for revenue management and remote monitoring.