Lobby opposes construction of Malewa Dam

The construction of the proposed Malewa Dam hangs in the balance after an association said if built, it will cause "irrevocable damage to Lake Naivasha".

Lake Naivasha Riparian Association said the dam is not a sustainable solution for the water-stressed regions of the Rift Valley.

The earth-fill dam would be 70-meter high, built with local materials and a spillway to accommodate flooding. It is intended to yield 45,000 cubic meters of water per day, providing potable water to Naivasha, Gilgil, and Ol Kalou towns. Its construction, however, hangs in the balance.

The association says the project will negatively affect the catchment, Malewa River, and the ecology and economy of Lake Naivasha.

“Shallow lakes and lakes with shallow margins, both characteristics of Lake Naivasha, are most sensitive to and reliant upon flood pulses to preserve their ecosystem,” the association said in a statement to the Star.

The group also noted that the dam will reduce Lake Naivasha to a small pond surrounded by a saline dust bowl in a few years.  

"The dam will destroy a very fragile ecosystem that was made a Ramsar Site in 1995 and it will destroy the livelihoods of the many thousands of people who live around the lake."

"We believe this dam is being pushed through from the highest levels in government as it will supply water to the Big Four agenda industrial park project at Suswa,"  the group added.

It said there is also a proposed canal under discussion that will carry water from the lake to the Industrial park.

The Water ministry has reportedly sunk eight boreholes into the Lake Naivasha underground aquifer to supply water to the industrial park.  

"If any or all of these water extraction projects go ahead, Lake Naivasha’s fragile ecosystem will be irrevocably destroyed."

Further, the association says Lake Naivasha is a Ramsar site, under the Ramsar Convention on wetlands.

The convention on wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.

It said the proposed dam will capture flood pulses in the reservoir, thus depriving Lake Naivasha of the critical flows.

“Reducing the volume and shifting the quality of water in Lake Naivasha will cause significant damage to the aquatic ecosystem, to the surrounding riparian ecosystem, and will hamper the lives and livelihoods of people dependent upon the lake.”

The Malewa River provides 80 per cent of the water to Lake Naivasha.

Egis Group —the consultants hired by the government to conduct the feasibility study of the proposed dam — said the dam will cause lake levels to drop by 3.5 meters from 2020-25 and will remain this low through 2049.

Flower farms and wildlife that depend on Lake Naivasha are set to be affected.

The horticulture and floriculture industries are the cornerstones for Kenya’s export of sustainably produced products to international markets.

"Today, over 40 per cent of the roses sold in Europe are grown in Kenya, and about half of these are grown in Naivasha."

The association said the industry directly employs over 30,000 people in the county and four times of that nationally, and is directly responsible for at least 0.6 per cent of Kenya’s GDP.

Lake Naivasha is also the centre of Kenya's geothermal electricity generation which provides 22 per cent of the nation's installed capacity.

The association said rivers in the catchment are already very low, which increases health risks for local and downstream inhabitants.

It said Lake Naivasha is more susceptible to system alterations on the Feeder Rivers, resulting in lakes drying up, salinisation, and poor water quality.

“The water from Lake Naivasha slowly seeps through the lake bottom and supplies deep groundwater aquifers in the Rift Valley. Therefore, any change in the lake level also has a significant negative impact on distant boreholes and Kenyan citizens across the Rift Valley.”

In 2016, the World Heritage Committee noted that many sites face potential threats from dam projects.

The committee declared that “the construction of dams with large reservoirs within the boundaries of world heritage properties is incompatible with their World Heritage status.”

It urged states to ensure that the impacts from dams that could affect properties located upstream or downstream within the same river basin are rigorously assessed to avoid impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value.

Lake Naivasha is on Kenya’s “tentative list” to be considered for nomination and groundwater from the lake flows to Lake Elmenteita, Lake Nakuru, and Lake Bogoria - the three lakes of the Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley declared World Heritage Sites by Unesco.

“Therefore, Lake Naivasha should be held to the highest conservation standards.”

The alternatives given to the government by the association include reforestation of catchment area, Mau Forest and the Aberdares. The group says this will revitalise the rivers and resulting water quality and quantity to lake Naivasha and the Rift Valley.

“The rehabilitation of springs in Kijabe and other parts of the Naivasha catchment will further enhance the basin’s recovery.”

It also wants the over 900 small dams in the region rehabilitated because most of them are in disrepair.

Boreholes, inter-basin transfers, and the reduction of abstraction as well as managing the demand are some of the recommendations.