The Thwake Dam or Thwake Multi-purpose Water Development Programme is a dam complex being built on the

Athi River Athi River is a town outside Nairobi, Kenya in Machakos County. The town is named after the Athi River, which passes through. It is also known as Mavoko. Athi River hosts the Mavoko Municipal Council and is the headquarters of Mavoko division, ...

in Kenya. The dam is meant to be a multipurpose dam that provides drinking water, agricultural irrigation water, hydropower, and other water supply infrastructure. Water storage is 688 million cubic metres, and is meant for rural homes, Konza and other local jurisdictions. The dam cost KSh. 37 billion and is being built by the China Gezhouba Group Company. The Funding was provided by the

African Development Fund The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies in ...

Water pollution concerns

The need for

potable water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ag ...

from the dam led to a number of conservation projects upstream, trying to create better clean water, such as in

Ondiri Wetland Ondiri Wetland or Ondiri Swamp is a protected wetland and peatbog that is the source of the Nairobi River near Kikuyu, Kenya in Kiambu County. The wetland is under pressure because of water extraction, deforestation Deforestation or forest ...

. Moreover, many industries had been discharging directly into the river. In July 2021, the dam was criticized by auditor Nancy Gathungu for the lack of clean and safe water to be retained due to pollution locations like

References

Dams in Kenya {{Kenya-stub