- Lutukai says constant deforestation in Mt Elgon has also affected underground water
- For Instance, Bukokholo dam located in Sirisia constituency has been affected by human activities
Image: TONY WAFULA
Massive deforestation in Mt Elgon has left springs, dams, rivers and wetlands in Bungoma county dry.
The problem has been worsened by climate change, that has now forced authorities to work on afforestation to restore the water bodies.
Environmentalist Nick Lutukai says many Bungoma dams, springs and rivers have dried up because of human activities and encroachment on riparian land.
He said planting unfriendly water trees along the water bodies have also contributed to the situation.
Lutukai says constant deforestation in Mt Elgon has also affected underground water.
For Instance, Bukokholo dam located in Sirisia constituency has been affected by human activities.
Locals grabbed the dam’s land and are using it for crop production and grazing.
Bukokholo dam, which initially had 15 acres, was built in 1958 by Europeans to provide water for domestic use. It is surrounded by indigenous trees.
Lutukai says, for a long time, the dam was under the management of the local government (Malakisi Town Council).
He says before encroachment and deforestation, the dam played an integral role in supplying locals with fish, fresh vegetables among others.
“The food items were sold at a low cost because they were in plenty. But after encroachment and deforestation the place became degraded,” Lutukai says.
The dam is now unfenced with reduced water volume and water hyacinth.
The collapse of the Malakisi ginnery greatly contributed to the degradation of the dam.
“Before the collapse of the Malakisi ginnery this place was vibrant,” he said.
Meanwhile Bungoma government has partnered with some stakeholders to rehabilitate the dams.
Lutukasi says locals are however derailing the efforts by uprooting seedlings.
“Sometimes due to limited resources we are unable to rehabilitate our dams and that is why we are asking partners to come on board and support us,” he says.
Lutukasi has warned against planting eucalyptus trees, saying they are not water friendly.
“Riparian lands are government owned therefore, people should growing crops on the lands because the activities are contributing to the drying of rivers,” he said.
In Bumula constituency, the well conserved Kisawai dam is providing locals with clean water, fish, fruits, tree seedlings and vegetables.
Kisawai dam manager Hussein Barasa, says they have invested heavily in conversation of the dam.
“We have turned the conservation efforts into income generating activities. We make money from the sale of tree seedlings, fish, vegetables and fruits,” he says.
Locals also depend on the dam for clean water.
National Environment Management Authority official Vincent Mahiva says most of the dams in Bungoma are made for economic and domestic use.
The dams were built during the colonial time to boost irrigation and other farming activities.
They are in Tongaren, Bumula, Kimilili, Kabuchai and Sirisia constituencies.
Mahiva says encroachment as the main threat to the dams.
“With the growing population, people are moving closer to the dams. This has caused siltation,” he says.
Mahiva has urged environmental partners to support Bungoma government to rehabilitate the dams.
He has called for sensitisation of the communities on waste management to stop the ongoing pollution.
“Pollutants are a major threat to aquatic lives. We are therefore appealing to the public to dispose their waste properly,” Mahiva says.
He has urged those living around the dams and rivers to plant water friendly trees.
“Don’t plant trees such as Blue gum because they tend to consume a lot of water,” Mahiva says.
Bungoma has 20 per cent tree cover and over 14 per cent forest cover.
The county has more than 10 permanent rivers and more than 30 dams.
Robert Sawa, a senior natural resources scientist, says Bungoma government will sensitise the community on the types of trees they should grow near dams and rivers.
He cites quarrying and sand harvesting as other challenges affecting dams and rivers.
Sawa wants miners to follow the legal procedures and guidelines to perform mining.
“Some quarries are left not rehabilitated where they become a health hazard where water accumulates in it resulting to mosquitoes, it also endangers children passing by the left pits,” he said.
Image: TONY WAFULA