• Data from the Lake Naivasha Water Resource Users Association indicates that the majority of the streams flowing from the catchment area have dried up.
• Kiminta said of the 13 tributaries from Aberdare Forest draining water into the River Malewa, seven had dried up.
Image: George Murage
Water levels in Lake Naivasha are dropping by 0.5m every week due to the drought that has affected 23 counties.
The situation has been worsened by massive water abstraction in the catchment area by small-scale farmers.
Data from the Lake Naivasha Water Resource Users Association indicates that the majority of the streams flowing from the catchment area have dried up.
Association chairman Enock Kiminta said the situation was getting worse by the day, with fears water levels could drop further.
Speaking in Naivasha on Tuesday, Kiminta said of the 13 tributaries from Aberdare Forest draining water into the River Malewa, seven had dried up.
“Climate change is real as we have seen most of the streams that flow into the River Malewa dry up due to human activity and the dry spell,” he said.
Kiminta said water levels in the lake had dropped from 1890.65m above sea level last week to 1889.5m, a drop of more than 0.5m.
He said River Malewa is the only one flowing into the lake as rivers Gilgil and Karati had dried up due to harsh weather conditions.
“Lake Naivasha relies heavily on water from the River Malewa and currently the levels are low due to low rainfall and abstraction by farmers upstream,” he said.
Kiminta said that if unchecked, the abstraction could in the coming days adversely affect water levels in Lake Naivasha and flower farms in the region.
He blamed the illegal abstraction on failure to enforce the law, adding that government agencies mandated to undertake this faced financial and capacity challenges.
“Currently, water levels in the lake are safe but if the illegal abstraction and the drought continue, this will have adverse effects on the lake’s level,” he said.
Friends of Lake Naivasha chairman Francis Muthui said parts of the catchment area had recorded minimal rainfall, leading to a drop in water levels in the lake.
“In the last three months water levels around the lake have dropped slightly and this could continue if the weather pattern does not change,” he said.
Edited by A.N