Water is life and every
effort to harvest, store and efficiently utilize water is worth to be
undertaken. Kenya remains a water scarce country making agricultural
productivity in many parts of the country unsustainable. The 6th
Sustainable Development Goal is geared towards ensuring access to safe and
affordable drinking water. This implies that water provision remains a priority
at global arena.
Kenya has been
experiencing heavy downpours during the rain seasons and extended dry periods.
These phenomenon has resulted to reduced crop production, reduction of
livestock pasture and general vegetation decline especially in Arid and
Semi-Arid parts of the country. With changing climate, the situation is
expected to get worse with time if no action is taken to cushion communities
from declining water resource
Water harvesting remain
viable solution to water challenges both at households and community levels.
Many a time, biggest percentage of rain water is not usable by households and
communities due to lack of water harvesting structures and knowhow. This is
demonstrated when communities have to travel long distances to fetch water
immediately after rains. The painful irony is the factor that the water at the
water points is product of surface runoff from their households and farms.
Surface
water runoff remain least explored means water harvesting.
After rains, huge amounts of water drain in rivers, streams, pathways, roads
and at times cause disasters such as loss of lives and destruction of
properties. The surface runoff can be utilized with ease and made available for
households for domestic and agricultural uses. This can be done through channeling
the surface water to water ponds, earth dams, arable lands and other water
harvesting structures.
Roof
catchments too provide ideal water harvesting avenue, many rural
households have access to low cost water tanks and jericans which are mainly used
for water harvesting. With right incentives by government, roof catchment
offers complementary source to household water availability. The high
penetration of plastics tanks and concrete water reservoirs has seen short term
water harvesting done targeting domestic water uses while farm ponds remain
adorable water harvesting and storage techniques for both domestic and
agriculture.
Farm
ponds have also proven to be manageable water harvesting
option at household level. Many
small and marginal farmers have found farm ponds to be ideal solutions to their
water struggles. Farm ponds are small in size and thus fit well within these
farmers’ land holding size. They are easy to construct and mainly do not
require skilled labour, they can be filled by small amounts of rain.
Furthermore, since they are individually managed farmers can freely use the
harvested water without any competition or conflict. In addition, farm ponds
save women and children from walking for miles to find, collect, and carry
water for domestic use. Farm ponds can also provide an additional source of
income for families by supporting activities like fish rearing and growing
vegetables.
At community levels, earth dams and water pans are being
excavated to provide large scale water source. Although they have not been much
explored by both government and development actors. With right water catchment,
earth dams are able to harvest substantial amounts of water which is available
for communities during dry seasons. They provide solution to medium scale water
needs for livestock, horticulture and household uses. Although susceptible to
pollution due to level of exposure, many a time community through their
management committees provide much needed leadership and regulatory bylaws
which prevent pollution and misuse of the rare commodity.
