Harnessing the sun to secure water in a changing climate

Water rarely belongs to one person or one place.

It moves through forests, farms and grazing lands. It sinks into the soil, gathers beneath the earth and emerges again through rivers, springs and boreholes. Along the way, it connects people, livestock, agriculture and nature.

In Baringo County, however, water has become increasingly difficult to access. Changing rainfall patterns, growing demand and the high cost of pumping have placed pressure on the communities that depend upon it.

At the Toniok Borehole, the challenge was once clear.

The system relied on diesel and electricity, both of which were expensive and unreliable. Residents contributed money to buy fuel, but the engine could only operate once enough had been collected and people had been paid to start it.

When that did not happen, the water remained beneath the ground, beyond the community’s reach.

Judy Chirchir remembers the uncertainty.

“We used to buy diesel and then come to the borehole so that water could be pumped for us,” she says. “When the money was not enough, we had to walk long distances or hire motorcycles to transport water.”

For Doreen Ngetich, the journey to alternative sources stretched for approximately three kilometres.

“I remember walking up and down the hills carrying water,” she says. “Sometimes I had to make several trips to collect enough for drinking, cooking, washing and caring for livestock.”

The solarisation of the Toniok Borehole has provided a different possibility.

Implemented by WWF-Kenya through the Catchment to Tap Project, with funding from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the initiative replaced the costly diesel-dependent system with solar energy and increased its water-storage capacity.

Today, the sun provides the energy needed to bring water to the surface.

The project is expected to improve access to clean and reliable water for more than 2,500 people, serving households, schools, health facilities and livestock.

Speaking during the official launch, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Kenya, H.E. Henk Jan Bakker, said water challenges were no longer confined to traditionally dry countries.

“I come from a country where water and our relationship with water have always been defining factors in our culture and national identity,” he said.

For generations, the Netherlands was largely concerned with protecting its people from too much water. But climate change has introduced a different concern.

“Droughts are increasingly becoming a reality in the Netherlands,” he said. “Previously, we were concerned about having too much water; now we are also threatened by having too little.”

The Ambassador noted that Kenya faces similar extremes, with some areas receiving excessive water while others endure prolonged shortages.

“We must therefore find better ways of managing water under changing climatic conditions,” he said.

This philosophy lies at the heart of the Catchment to Tap Project. Rather than treating a borehole as an isolated structure, the project considers the entire water system—from the upper catchment where rainfall is received to the homes, farms and institutions where the water is eventually used.

Baringo Deputy Governor Felix Maiyo said the county had already invested heavily in borehole construction, but many systems were no longer functioning.

“The county has constructed more than 700 boreholes,” he said. “However, our greatest challenge has been regulating and managing the boreholes and the committees responsible for them.”

Only about 60 per cent of the county’s boreholes are currently functional. According to the Deputy Governor, high electricity costs and weak management systems are among the leading causes of failure.

“In many cases, the boreholes break down because of the high cost of power,” he said. “Solarisation provides a more sustainable and affordable source of energy.”

However, solar panels alone cannot protect a water project indefinitely. Every pump must be maintained, every storage tank inspected and every committee held accountable.

“There is nothing completely free,” Deputy Governor Maiyo said. “Everyone must make a contribution.”

The community will therefore pay an affordable amount towards the operation and maintenance of the Toniok system.

For Judy, this contribution is manageable compared with the previous expenses.

“We are paying much less than what we used to spend on diesel, labour and transport,” she says. “We are happy because the project has considered sustainability.”

WWF-Kenya CEO Jackson Kiplagat said long-term water security would require both partners and government to invest in the wider landscape.

“As we seek support from partners, the county must also allocate resources towards transitioning boreholes from electricity and diesel to solar power,” he said.

He further called for greater investment in water harvesting, groundwater recharge and integrated planning.

“Much of the rainwater currently flows downstream, causing problems in some areas while other areas remain without water,” he said.

“We can work together to capture and utilise the water that currently flows away. Through proper engineering and integrated planning, we can address several water, food-security and climate-related challenges.”

The Toniok Borehole therefore represents more than a source of water. It demonstrates how renewable energy, community participation, government leadership and international cooperation can come together around one essential resource.

Across the landscape, water continues its ancient movement, from cloud to soil, from catchment to aquifer and, finally, from the earth into the hands of a waiting community.