Kenya and UNESCO-IHP Coordinated research Projects on Water Resources Assessment.

Abstract:

The 2011-2012 Horn of Africa drought crisis affected Kenya, resulting in destruction of livelihoods and weakening of traditional drought coping mechanisms and reduced capacities for humanitarian agencies. In response to this catastrophe and in line with the Nairobi Declaration of the Heads of States Summit regarding the crisis, and building on the experience and expertise of its International Hydrological programme, UNESCO launched the Groundwater Resources Investigation for Drought Mitigation in Africa Programme (GRIDMAP). Through GRIDMAP the Turkana groundwater Survey was implemented. The approach comprised of integrating existing ancillary field data, satellite imagery and ground-truthing. High resolution maps identifying groundwater occurrence, soil textures and recharge areas were constructed. Exploratory wells were drilled in some of the identified aquifers.A network of shallow aquifers was identified to spread across the area, only hidden by a few meters of the overburden below the surface.

Presently 5 boreholes have been drilled within this aquifer and the average yield per borehole is about 80cu m/hour. The large paleo lake Lotikipi Basin aquifer covers a surface of 4146sq.km and hosts over 248 BCM in its 3-km deep graben structure. These deep aquifer-bearing structures comprise highly permeable Plio-Pleistocene fluvio-deltaic and lacustrine deposits interlayed with volcanic ash layers reworked by nearby rivers. Groundwater in these aquifers is partly static and partly dynamic in the graben-like structures.

In view of these findings, the Government of Kenya and UNESCO Nairobi office have signed a cooperative framework agreement in May 2015 to continue with these groundwater assessments in a phased approach but eventually to cover the whole country.

In addition and following UNESCO-IHP strategic plan-VIII: Water Security: Responses to Local, Regional, and Global Challenges (2014-2021) under theme 2: Groundwater in a changing environment, Kenya and Tanzania has proposed to carry out Kilimanjaro trasboundary Aquifer assessment in collaboration with UNESCO-IAEA Joint International Isotope Hydrology Programme (JIIHP). Integration of Isotopes hydrology techniques, remote sensing, Hydrogeological, Geophysical, social economic and other conventional methods will be applied.