James M. Raude

Drought Forecasting Using Indices and Artificial Neural Networks for Upper Tana River Basin, Kenya-A Review Concept

Due to increased impact of drought on water availability at different scales there is need to understand droughts especially in upper Tana River basin which is a critical and largest water system in Kenya. There is need to correlate trends of drought as influenced by the climate variability of the present times. Drought frequency, duration and intensity in the basin have been increasing. The influencing hydro-meteorological parameters and their interaction are necessary in developing measures for mitigating impacts of droughts. It is important to have a timely review of drought definitions and fundamental concepts of droughts, classification of droughts, types of drought indices, historical droughts and artificial neural networks with special focus of Kenyan a basin. Out of the review, this paper draws conclusions where gaps for more focused research especially for a typical river basin in Kenya exist. By developing effective drought forecasting tool for on-set detection and drought classification and drought forecasting, information on decision making on matters of drought preparedness and mitigation programmes will be available for proper water resources management.

Simulation of the Hydraulics and Treatment Performance of Horizontal Subsurface Flow Constructed Wetland Treating Greywater

Constructed wetlands (CWs) have evolved as some of reliable wastewater treatment technologies. Various types of CWs differ in their main design characteristics and in processes responsible for pollutant removal. Classification of CWS is based on the type of vegetation used and hydrological parameters involved and can thus be classified as free water surface or subsurface flow systems. Further, subsurface flow systems can be classified according to flow direction as vertical or horizontal. This study considers horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands (HSFCWs) which introduces the mechanistic, dynamic compartmental model-Constructed Wetlands 2D (CW2D). The model has successfully been utilized to evaluate the performance of vertical flow constructed wetlands and is being tested on HFCWs. An outdoor pilot scale HSFCW system was established in Nakuru, Kenya. CW2D was calibrated, validated and used to simulate hydraulic performance of HSFCW system. The model was used in predicting effluent concentrations of the main greywater pollutants. In general, the results obtained showed a good match with the measured data. CW2D is an effective tool for evaluating the performance of CWs and can provide insights in treatment problems at an existing CW. The same methodology can be used to optimize existing systems.

A review of radiometric analysis on soil erosion and deposition studies in Africa

Abstract Soil erosion is one of the main soil degradation phenomena that threaten sustainable use of soil productivity thus affecting food security. In addition, it leads to reservoir storage capacity loss because of sedimentation. This not only affects water quantity but also water quality. Worldwide, annual loss in reservoir storage capacity due to sedimentation is 0.5 to 1%. Similarly, about 27% of land in Africa is largely degraded by erosion. As a result, there is need to minimize soil erosion and deposition through site specific estimation of soil erosion and deposition rates in the reservoirs. To achieve this, Fallout RadioNuclides (FRNs) are some of the methods in use. The most common radionuclides include; 137Cs, 210Pb and 7Be. Only few countries in Africa have exploited these FRNs. In these countries, 137Cs has been largely exploited but in some regions, it has been reported to be below minimum detection limit. Using 137Cs and 210Pb, maximum reference inventory in Africa is found to be 1450 and 2602 Bq/m2, respectively. However, there is minimal application of 7Be within the continent. Also, very little has been done in Africa to assess chronology and sedimentation rates of reservoirs using FRNs measured from sediment cores. In conclusion, a gap still exists on FRNs application in Africa in assessing soil erosion, deposition and reservoir sedimentation.

Assessment of Sedimentation Status of Ruiru Reservoir, Central Kenya

Reservoir sedimentation can adversely affect the storage capacity of water bodies; reduce flood attenuation, change water quality, damage valves and conduits amongst others. This study investigated sedimentation rate in Ruiru reservoir as a measure for monitoring water resource management using capacity survey method. Water depth was measured using a transducer fitted on the side of the boat which also recorded corresponding geographic positions with an inbuilt GPS receiver. About 5000 points covering approximately 36 hectare of the water surface were surveyed. A total of eleven sediment sampling points were identified in the reservoir in which five were strategically selected at location near entry from respective streams. The depth of sediments, which relate to the quantity of sediment deposition from the streams ranged between 600 mm and 2100 mm. Ruiru stream demonstrated the highest level of sediment influx into the dam while Ngeteti stream had the least. The reservoir volume was calculated to be 2,632,347m3 and estimate volume of the sediments 389,245 m3, which is a 13.1% storage capacity loss. A related recent study noted storage capacity loss of 11%, which shows that the reservoir has lost about 11-14% of its storage capacity in 65 years. Results further showed that the Area Specific Sediment Yield (ASY) was 38.84 Mg ha-1 y-1, which is higher than the tolerable soil loss of 2 to 18 Mg ha-1 y-1 for the tropics, but is within the range of 10 - 200 Mg ha-1 y-1 typical of savanna ecosystems. These findings are useful to water resource managers because they can help in computing the useful life of a reservoir.