Faced with chronic shortage of water, Kenya has now turned to satellite technology to locate and explore underground water. The satellite technology called Watex System will map water wells in Turkana, one of the country’s most affected areas.
The Kenyan government has since launched KSh131 million water surveys in Turkana County. This comes after Kenya made a discovery of oil in the region earlier this year.
Director of waters resources in Kenya John Rao Nyaoro said the survey of the groundwater in the drought affected Turkana County using radar technologies will go a long way in enhancing the country’s understanding of ground water in this area.
According to Nyaoro, past satellite surveys have shown Kenya has 60 billion cubic metres of renewable underground water compared to 20 billion cubic metres of surface water.
Kenya faces acute shortage of water especially during the drought season, and is categorized as ‘Water Stressed’. According to the UN, 80 percent of Kenya’s population is not accessed to clean water.
Turkana, whose communities are majorly cattle-keepers, has hit the headlines in the recent past due to severe drought responsible for chronic food shortage and water scarcity.
The water-drilling project, financed by Japanese government, was launched in Nairobi this week and is supported by Unesco.
