Deforestation threatens water access in Mt Elgon

Harrison Naibei, a farmer from Kopsiro subcounty, who drilled underground water at his home due to surface water shortage, said the water source is now serving the entire community and a school.

Naibei said in the recent past, the region has faced water shortage attributing it to the frequent cutting down of trees from Mt Elgon Forest and within the community.

“Mt Elgon is known for having water towers but, unfortunately, we are the ones decrying water shortage," he said.

Naibei said he drilled his water point in 2021 after the region was hit by a drought affecting his onion farm and leading to financial losses of between Sh30,000 and Sh40,000.

Besides onions, Naibei produces maize, irish potatoes, dhania, and tomatoes on his three acres.

“My farm is near a water spring, but there is a water shortage during the dry season. This is why I decided to drill groundwater, I had to identify an alternative way of getting water to irrigate my crops,” he said.

Naibei later engaged a water company that enabled pumping of water to serve the entire community including a nearby school—Kamachei Primary School.

This has saved the learners from walking long distances to fetch water, which he said exposes young girls to teenage pregnancy.

Naibei said with the looming drought, he is worried about a water shortage crisis.

He is calling on the government and other environment-related agencies to work with Mt Elgon community to plant more trees in the forest and within the community warning that if the situation continues, the water towers in the region risk drying and this will affect the flow of rivers.

Wetlands and forests trap runoff water, enabling it to sink into soil layers to form groundwater.

Destruction of wetlands and deforestation impacts negatively on underground water.

Kenya Forest Service Bungoma county Ecosystem Conservator George Wara decried the rate of deforestation in Mt Elgon region and said they  working with other stakeholders to ensure forest cover is restored.

“We have plans to rehabilitate Mt Elgon Forest, we don’t want residents to continue cutting trees because we are already feeling the pinch,” Wara said.

Groundwater is the most critical source of drinking water for people, as well as livestock and wildlife watering in the 11 countries in the Nile Basin.

According to the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), an intergovernmental partnership of 10 Nile Basin countries, over 70 per cent of the rural population in this region depends on groundwater.

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Vincent Mahiva of Bungoma County National Environmental Management Authority said Mt Elgon is a vital ecosystem in the region as it provides water sources for rivers both in Kenya and Uganda.

He explained that besides helping to reduce evapotranspiration, trees form a soft carpet allowing water to soak when it rains.

Moses Wambusi, a Public Health Officer in Bungoma county, lamented that it is difficult for Mt Elgon residents to dig deep latrines due to a hard rock in the area, leading to poor health and sanitation.

To support the Mt Elgon communities in their efforts towards the sustainable use and management of the Mt Elgon aquifer, NBI is currently implementing a project to strengthen the knowledge base, capacity, and cross-border institutional mechanisms.

The project also targets two other aquifers: the Kagera basin aquifer, shared by Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, and the Gedaref-Adigrat aquifer, shared between Ethiopia and Sudan.

The $5.3 million and five-year (2020 – 2025) project is funded by the Global Environment Facility through the UNDP.