Mwache Dam 90% built: 136 billion litres, first fill targeted October 2026
Key points
- Mwache Multipurpose Dam in Kinango, Kwale, is more than 90% complete; first reservoir fill is targeted for October 2026.
- Design: 84-metre roller-compacted concrete wall, now about 79 metres high; storage 136 million cubic metres (136 billion litres).
- Officials say it should deliver about 186 million litres of treated water a day to more than 1.6 million people in Kwale and Mombasa.
- CS Eric Muga inspected with PS Julius Korir and Water Secretary Eng. Samuel Alima and told the contractor to hold the timeline.
Ninety per cent of an 84-metre wall, and the Coast still waits for the tap. Water and Sanitation Cabinet Secretary Eric Muga said the Mwache Multipurpose Dam in Kinango Sub-County, Kwale, has passed that mark and should start impounding in October 2026, Eastleigh Voice reported.
The roller-compacted concrete gravity dam stands at about 79 metres toward an 84-metre design. Storage is put at 136 million cubic metres — 136 billion litres — with about 186 million litres of treated water a day for households, industry and institutions in Kwale and Mombasa. More than 1.6 million residents are listed as beneficiaries. Muga, walking the site with Principal Secretary Julius Korir and Water Secretary Eng. Samuel Alima, called Mwache a BETA flagship for water security, jobs and climate resilience and told the project team and contractor to keep pace and standards. Korir repeated the ministry’s timeline pledge. A related ministry line has put the Coast’s daily water deficit at hundreds of thousands of cubic metres — the reason this fill date matters more than the ribbon.
A full reservoir is not a household tap
Impoundment in October only starts the clock on treatment works, pipes and county billing. Mombasa and Kwale will judge success by hours of supply in Likoni and Ukunda, not by a wall-height percentage.
Environment desk: Environment. Verified heights, volumes, October target and Muga quotes from Eastleigh Voice.
The ministry should publish the remaining-works snag list and the treatment-plant ready date beside the fill date. County water companies should show which estates get first water.
Kinango residents should get a written resettlement and drawdown note before the gates close.
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Based on Eastleigh Voice reporting of the CS site visit. Completion and first-water dates can slip.
