Publication Date:
2021-05-19
Description:
Potable water is a scarce resource in the coastal parts of Kenya. Most of the water used in the larger coastal towns originates from inland sources. Mombasa, the largest city along the coast, gets most of its water from the Mzima springs, on the slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro. The waters from the inland sources are inadequate and are supplemented by groundwater. Most of the groundwater aquifers yield either saline or brackish water, and the few freshwater aquifers are currendy in danger of being over-extracted or polluted. Studies are underway for ways to utilise the groundwater resources along the Kenya coast in a sustainable manner. There are two types of aquifer along the coast, confined and unconfined aquifers. The area studied is a N-S oriented unconfined aquifer. It is in a V-shaped, clayey lagoonal depression bordered by Pleistocene sands on the west and Recent dune sands on the east. The freshwater aquifer in the area is the main source of potable water for the urban centres of Gongoni and Timboni and the main Mombasa Salt Works processing plant. The aim of the study was to look at the impact of sand harvesting, and possible saline contamination of the aquifer by activities at the nearby salt harvesting plant and by seawater intrusion. The major factor abetting pollution of the freshwater aquifer is the sand harvesting activity which exposes the aquifer to the atmosphere. Extension of the salt works closer to the aquifer field combined with high abstraction rates may also lead to saline water intrusion and contamination of the aquifer.
Description:
Published
Keywords:
Sustainable development
;
Freshwater aquifer
;
Sand harvesting
;
Salt harvesting
;
Pollution effects
Repository Name:
AquaDocs
Type:
Report Section
,
Not Known
Format:
pp.181-193
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