Siaya County is tucked against Lake Victoria to the south and bordered by Busia County to the west, and Vihiga, Kakamega and Kisumu Counties to the north and east. Siaya is home to nearly one million people.

There are about 24 water suppliers in Siaya that serve only 42 percent of the population. The rest fetch water from Lake Victoria or from streams, rainwater catchment tanks, wells, boreholes or springs. In April 2018, the county was declared open defecation free.

Water is more plentiful in the northern part of the County. In the south, there is less than one water source every 2.5 square kilometers, requiring people, especially women and girls, to spend great amounts of time collecting water every day. Some of these water sources are seasonal, only existing during times of consistent rainfall. Expanding water supply and distribution is an urgent need in Siaya County.

Key KIWASH interventions in Siaya County include:

Water Access and Distribution

• Supporting the Siaya Bondo Water and Sanitation Company, as well as 16 smaller water service enterprises, to improve efficiency of business operations, serve customers better, reach new customers and qualify for financing to expand services.
• Improving water infrastructure, including installing more efficient pumps, building new storage tanks, installing meters to track water usage, and laying new distribution pipelines.
• Advising and supporting water enterprises as they develop marketing and business plans to drive the development and expansion of services.
• Protecting vulnerable water sources including springs and catchment areas, and establishing community associations to manage and protect water sources.

Governance and Policy

• Providing technical assistance to strengthen the governance and management of key water companies including the Siaya-Bondo Water and Sewerage Company (SIBOWASCO
• Working with the boards and senior management of WSPs to develop strategic plans and investment plans
• Promoting gender mainstreaming in water management
• Providing technical assistance to the Siaya County Assembly Water Committee members to review the Draft Water Bill for passage.

Sanitation and Hygiene

• Promoting improved sanitation and hygiene practices through Community led social sanitation(CLTS), large scale Social and behavior change messaging (SBCC) and sanitation marketing with the goal of improved uptake and sustained hand washing at critical times, hygienic disposal of feces, food safety, household water treatment and safe storage of drinking water.
• Enhancing capacity of health facilities in integrating Essential WASH actions (EWA) at ORT corners and MCH clinic points by equipping ORT corners, installing large volume hand washing facilities and distributing safe water and hygiene kits to pregnant women and mothers who visit health facilities to encourage adoption of EWAs
• Building capacity of a critical mass of frontline service providers particularly CHVs and CHEWS, artisans, masons and organized community groups to encourage adoption of desired WASH behaviors at household and community level.

Environmental Sustainability

• Expanding source water quality protection through spring protection activities, water resource mapping in catchment areas, tree growing and erosion control activities.
• Increasing climate change resilience in drinking water source planning, development and design of systems/services
• Distributing water treatment and hygiene kits to mothers and caregivers who visit local health facilities.