After retiring as deputy provincial commissioner, William Changole invested all the money he had earned into the hotel business near Lake Bogoria.
He expected to reap big from the venture. He had built the 20-room Papyrus Inn to cater for middle-income guests and local tourists, as well as shops and a nyama choma joint.
However, within seven months, Changole had lost all his investments to the lake. One day he found himself stranded in Kitale town despite being familiar with the place. He later realised he was suffering the emotional impacts of such a big loss. At least six people have died due to depression.
Changole shared this with the team formed by the Environment ministry in October to probe rising lakes in Rift Valley and the Victoria basin. In its report seen by the Star, the multi-agency technical team says climate change is the main driver to the rising water levels. It has recommended the immediate assistance of the displaced at a cost of more than Sh800 million.
"The freshwater ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change for example, changes in water availability, water quality, and evapotranspiration on ecosystem structure and function," the report says.
"This has been further complicated by the unusually high rainfall that has been received in most of these catchments as a result of climate change and global warming."
The floods have ravaged crops and grazing land, brought hippos and crocodiles to people’s doorsteps and separated families, as well as destroying livelihoods.
Kipchumba Kipkeron, the owner of Lake Bogoria Curio, Bar and Restaurant, is also counting losses due to the rising lakes. He had invested all his life savings into the business.
He informed the technical team that his 18 years’ worth of investment had been lost, as well as his family home that he had built, thanks to raging waters.
Kipkeron is now living in two 10x10 rooms in Loboi Centre with his entire family. His property was lost within two months, between July and August. All he is left with is a title deed.
Jane Kiprotich, who lived in the now-submerged Kabasungu village, also highlighted the stress that her family and others are in as they watch the water of Lake Bogoria rising, signalling more losses in future.
WIDE-RANGING IMPACT
Families are also under stress since they were separated due to abrupt movements to higher grounds.
In most cases, the wives and daughters were hosted in one region while husbands and sons had to look for other accommodations.
The report by the technical team links the rising water levels to climate change, land use change patterns and geological factors.
The raging waters have destroyed houses, rendering hundreds of families homeless. Crops and grazing land have also been destroyed.
Wildlife have also lost their habitats, driving them to move to higher grounds where displaced families sought refuge causing conflicts.
The water has also changed wildlife habitats, displacing some wildlife. Habitats for other wildlife, such as hippos and crocodiles, have changed. They have started moving dangerously close to people.
The environment has been compromised through changes in water quality, soil characteristics and invasive species.
The hue and cry that followed compelled the Environment ministry to form a technical team to investigate. The mission of the group was to establish the causes, socioeconomic impacts and recommend interventions for cushioning the affected communities.
Working in close collaboration with the United National Development Programme, the Red Cross and the Stockholm Environment Institute, the teams undertook a scoping mission from October 21 to October 30. This covered 11 lakes and one dam.
These are Lake Turkana, Lake Logipi, Lake Baringo, Lake Bogoria, Lake Nakuru, Lake Solai, Lake Elementaita, Lake Naivasha, Lake OlBolossat, Lake Magadi and Lake Victoria.
The teams also scoped the Turkwel dam and Ewaso Nyiro South catchment area.
The report shows that Lake Baringo has increased by 85.1 per cent, Bogoria 10.3, Elementaita 33.3, Magadi 4.03, Naivasha 38.35, Nakuru 19.5, Turkana 8.44, Victoria 0.5 and Olbolossat 279.19.
The report notes numerous cases of destroyed human settlements and livelihoods, loss of wildlife habitats, destruction of critical infrastructure, such as school and hospital buildings, roads, electricity, bridges among other basic amenities.
"The submerging of large tracts of lands has also caused loss of farmlands and grazing lands, triggering rising cases of human wildlife conflicts," the report says.
MINE OF INFORMATION
The mission has provided a large compendium of data and information on the 11 lakes and their ecosystems, including giving recent Geographical Information Systems maps, hydrological and meteorological data.
The 45-page report says climate change forms the main driver to the rising water levels. It says the continued land degradation as a result of changes in land use in recent decades has become quite severe in some areas.
"This has resulted in reduced water percolation into the groundwater systems and higher rainfall runoff from land, leading to larger volumes of water flowing directly and rapidly from the land surface into the lakes," part of the report says.
The report says the run-off triggers siltation and sedimentation that is deposited on the lake floors, reducing the volume of water that can be stored within these lake basins.
"The rainfall runoff over degraded lands and enhanced soil erosion as well as degradation of the lakes' riparian zones has decreased the depths of the lakes and hence their reservoir capacity through increased sedimentation."
The report also cites geological factors as drivers of the rising water levels.
"Preliminary evidence from the scoping mission suggests the region could be experiencing periods of isostatic adjustments compounded with some neotectonics deformation."
The report says the adjustment has the potential to create asymmetry of water bodies within the rift systems.
"Tectono-magmatic field stress coupled with seismicity could also be of influence on the observed swelling waters. Rift Valley being in an active extension zone, the variance of extension rates with respect to far-tectonic process happening in Mid-Atlantic ridge could have implications on the East African Rift system (EARs)," the report says.
The report says there is potential likelihood of subsurface and groundwater exchange due to saturation, resulting in an unbalanced negative moisture budget.
It says the impacts of groundwater saturation within the fault-pathway networks are thought to limit underground outflow from the lake water body.
"Remarkably, the Rift Valley is located in an active tectonic belt and significant numbers of low magnitude seismic activities are thought to be taking place within the rift. In this regard, the observed surge of lakes could also be linked to low magnitude seismic perturbation."
COUNTING THE COST
The report says many residents were under severe stress from the losses they have incurred.
The report says the communities in Lakes Baringo and Bogoria areas placed great reliance on cultural and religious beliefs in explaining and understanding the rising water levels phenomena.
"The team was told of ancient myths and stories of how a great water rise swept away large areas of the land surrounding the lakes. This directly informed and influenced their cultural practices and beliefs."
In Lake Magadi and Ewaso Nyiro South, an area of about 20km2 estimated to cover 30 per cent of Lake Magadi is currently covered with silt.
This siltation has affected the Trona mining undertaken by the Tata Chemicals Magadi Ltd. Lake Magadi is a source of livelihood for over 50,000 people.
The report estimates that KWS in Nakuru will require Sh25 million to replace the submerged gate.
It will also need Sh12 million to rehabilitated the submerged 3km electric fence.
"KWS incurred expenses in demolishing structures that were being submerged with the rising lake level as well as relocating offices and staff to temporary facilities. These costs amounted to Sh600,000. Building lost estimated at Sh120,000,000."
The report says KWS has so far spent approximately Sh50 million to rehabilitate the infrastructure damaged by the rising water levels of Lake Nakuru and erect temporary facilities.
The institution has spent approximately Sh105 million to rehabilitate the 20km road damaged by floods in the last three years.
The salinity of Lake Nakuru has reduced from 22 to 62g/l (ppt), which is optimal for growth performance of Arthrospira fusiformis to below 2-5g/l.
This has completely changed the lake ecology, with fresh water phytoplankton such Coccoids and zooplankton, such as daphnia magna, being dominant.
In Turkwel, approximately 6,000 acres of grazing land has been flooded, with at least 61 goats being reported to have been eaten up by crocodiles during the month of September alone.
In the Baringo/Bogoria basin, approximately 3,087 households have been displaced.
Within Lake Nakuru, Solai and Elementaita basins, socioeconomic issues are manifested prominently in the Mwariki/Barut settlement, with 1,500 households at great risk of losing Sh4.5 billion.
At Lake Naivasha, an estimate of 500 households were displaced and their homes destroyed by the rising water levels.
SOLUTIONS PROPOSED
Human deaths have been reported, where six people died recently in Kihoto as a result of distress and depression after their properties were destroyed.
Over 20km roads estimated at Sh 100million and power transformers are submerged exposing the community to great risk.
Three beaches are also submerged and the situation cannot sustain the fisherfolk.
In Lake Solai 2,626 acres of private land under crop or grazing land has been submerged.
At the Turkwel dam, 5,000 households have been displaced (about 30,000 people), 13 schools with a student population of about 2,700 pupils have been inundated.
More than 6,000 acres of grazing land and 11 fish landing beaches have been flooded. In terms of infrastructure, over 35km of road, 16 boreholes and three health facilities have been destroyed.
The surge of Lake Turkana has affected 30,186 people.
In Lake Victoria, the rising levels have led to the damage of more than 12 households, with 10 beaches in Migori county worth Sh2.5million submerged and 65 beaches in Homabay worth Sh16.5million.
Two water supply intakes worth Sh165,000,000 have been submerged.
In Siaya county, five water supply intakes worth Sh151,570,000 were damaged while In Kisumu county, the Dunga Water Supply Intake got damaged, suffering losses of about Sh108,250,000.
As a result, more than 10,000 people lack access to clean water after the water pump was destroyed by floods.
The short-term measures recommended by the report include relief and cash assistance to affected communities, emergency health services, water, sanitation and hygiene, emergency shelter kit among others.
This will need Sh848,214,547.74.
The report also calls for the promotion of sustainable land use management practices in the catchment areas, mapping and delineation and enforcement of regulations on riparian reserves.
Major water towers also needs to be restored, among other measures.
Edited by T Jalio