Environment News – Late Edition - 12.9.13 Part I: Vast Aquifers May Help Turkana People Survive IF the Oil Companies Don’t Get to Them First Two vast underground aquifers, storing billions of litres of water, have been discovered in Kenya’s poorest and least developed area - the Turkana County in the north west of the country. The finds were uncovered using ground penetrating satellite radar and Kenya’s minister of environment, Judy Wakhungu, said that, being quite shallow, the aquifers shouldn’t be too expensive to develop. The barren semi-desert Turkana region is home to about 700 000 people, who mostly live off their herds of camels, goats and sheep and this new water source is more than enough to supply the entire county. The problem will be accessing the water - Turkana is among the most remote and lawless regions of Kenya and there is no infrastructure to pump the water to the surface. "Groundwater resources here are not an issue but many of the surrounding communities still lack a borehole or the pumps to access it," he said. "Those that do cannot always afford the fuel to operate the generator to power the pump or have the cash to service and maintain the equipment." Said Oxfam’s water expert in Nairobi, Brian McSorley. Concern has also increased in recent years about the growing interest in oil in the region near the Kenyan/Sudanese border. The UK-based Tullow Oil company has been drilling in the area and the recently found signs of oil south of Lodwar (where the larger of the two aquifers lies). The reserves are not yet proven, but if the region has oil and water, international attention is certain to be focused on the area. theguardian/global-development/2013/sep/11/kenya-water-discovery-drought-relief
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 09:37:37 +0000
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