Lake Naivasha is becoming three centimetres shallower every year due to massive siltation occasioned by increased human activity, experts have said.
This comes at a time when the lake levels have risen sharply flooding structures on riparian land, flower farms and several estates.
In the last couple of months, water levels have risen to the highest levels ever at 1892.8m above sea level since 1906 when it stood at 1892m ASL.
Lake Naivasha Water Resources User Association (LANARUA) chairman Enock Kiminta said the lake was like a bowl which was now spilling its content.
“There are proposals to construct a dam in Aberdare and this will in the future kill Lake Naivasha and the flower and fisheries sectors which are a mainstay for thousands,” he said.
Lake Naivasha Riparian Association (LNRA) secretary Silas Wanjala said the water body was one of the most erratic in the region.
He noted that those affected by the current floods had encroached into the riparian land and constructed permanent structures terming the current crisis as self-made.
“The flooding has been caused by the high amounts of silt been washed into the lake making it shallower and flooding nearby farms and Kihoto Estate,” he said.
Wanjala warned this had affected the quality of water in the lake and put into risk the fisheries sector which employed hundreds.
Chairman Lake Naivasha Basin Landscape Association (LANABLA) Paul Ruoya noted that run-off from Eburru and Aberdare forests had contributed to the silt leading to the rise in water levels.
He noted that farming on riparian land should be stopped as it destroys the papyrus weed that sieves any water getting into the lake.
“This lake is very crucial to the economy of this country and there is a need to protect it through sustainable farming in the catchment area and controlled fishing,” he said.
Ruoya added that this could be done through an increase in budgetary allocation to environmental conservation and educating those around the lake.
Crayfish Hotel CEO Peter Mehta said the rise in water levels had left a trail of destruction.
He said for over 30 years the hotel had been in operation, they had never recorded anything of the kind with the levels rising by the day.
“We are not on riparian land but the water levels from the lake have risen sharply affecting our business and we are calling for support from the government to restart the business,” he said.
Edited by R.Wamochie
