Rainwater harvesting has been in existence for many years and has positively impacted life, agriculture and economy. Despite these known benefits of rainwater harvesting, Makueni County's population is slowly adopting rainwater harvesting technologies. Water scarcity still remains a major constraint to life and economic development in the County. The aim of this paper is to evaluate rainwater harvesting technologies and the factors contributing to adoption of the technologies in the ASAL areas with Makueni County being the case study. The study was conducted in Wanzauni and Itetani locations in Tulimani division, Mbooni West district, Makueni County within Kenya's Eastern Region which lies within the arid and semi arid ecological zones of Kenya. A total of 160 household questionnaires were administered, focus group discussions and key informants interviews done during data collection exercise. The data was analyzed using Statistical package for social scientists (SPSS). Various rainwater harvesting technologies (RWHTs) are used within Makueni County including macro-catchment (earth dams, sand/sub-surface dams), micro-catchment (Zai pits, strip catchment, tillage, contour and semi-circular bunds) and rooftop rainwater harvesting technologies with rooftop catchment being the most commonly used technique. However, adoption of these RWHTs in Makueni County is slow irrespective of their potential to improve livelihoods. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to predict factors affecting adoption of RWHTs within 160 households in Makueni County. Some of the factors found to have statistically-significant positive effect on the adoption of RWHT are gender, literacy levels, social and economic status and technological know-how on RWHT. Ways of promoting the adoption of RWHTs such as capacity building and training, poverty alleviation through enhancement of income generation activities, enhanced formation of community groups aimed at water development activities, and improved designs incorporating mechanized technologies in favour of women and children, are recommended.
The Effects of Shifting Irrigation on Community Livelihoods and Environmental...CrimsonpublishersMCDA
This study sets out to investigate the effects of shifting irrigation on community livelihoods and environmental quality along the Ewaso Nyiro Basin of Isiolo County in Kenya. The study uses longitudinal data collected between 2006 and 2015 through participatory research techniques, case studies, observation, key informant interviews and questionnaire survey. Results from the study show that the lower EwasoNyiro basin has nine operational irrigation schemes which households along the basin depend to practice irrigation farming. Irrigation has diversified the means of livelihood of the people and is an important source of food in the lower EwasoNyiro basin. Due to irrigation practices, environmental degradation has been experienced. These include, soil erosion, deforestation, salinity and water logging. However biocide and chemical fertilizers use is low in these irrigation schemes. Environmental conservation practices are rarely practised in the irrigation schemes with minimal cases reporting soil erosion control, afforestation, soil fertility management and safe use of agro-chemicals. The study recommends portable means of lifting water from the river schemes and environmental conservation at the household level and at the scheme level in the short term. We also recommend policy measures that will ensure flood control at the catchment level as this will enablesetting up of permanent irrigation schemes in the study area as a long-term solution.
https://crimsonpublishers.com/mcda/fulltext/MCDA.000545.php
For more open access journals in Crimson Publishers please click on link: https://crimsonpublishers.com
For more articles on international journal of agronomy impact factor please click on below link: https://crimsonpublishers.com/mcda/
Nepal's history of water management_Dr. Hari Krishna ShreshthaSaciWATERs
Nepal’s History of Water Management Institutions: Is there a Role for them in Adapting to
Water Scarcity?
- Dr. Hari Krishna Shrestha, Nepal Engineering College
Forms of Water Supply, Conservation and use in Banigbe District, Municipality...IJAEMSJORNAL
Rural populations in underdeveloped countries like Benin have difficult access to safe drinking water. This research aims to study the forms of water supply, conservation and use in Banigbé district. The methodological approach revolves around data collection through documentary research; data processing and results analysis. It appears that 88.75% of the 80 households selected for the survey in Banigbé, use at-risk sources (rivers; Private PEA; traditional wells). Only 11.25% have access to water from conventional sources such as the National Water Society of Benin (SONEB) and the Drilling of Human Motric Pumps (FPM). 88.75% of those selected for the survey also said that they do not treat drinking water at any source. It is therefore necessary to improve the quality of the water to which the populations of Banigbé have access to, and this through the disinfection of water from at risk sources and the proliferation of village hydraulic equipment in the district of Banigbé.
The Effects of Shifting Irrigation on Community Livelihoods and Environmental...CrimsonpublishersMCDA
This study sets out to investigate the effects of shifting irrigation on community livelihoods and environmental quality along the Ewaso Nyiro Basin of Isiolo County in Kenya. The study uses longitudinal data collected between 2006 and 2015 through participatory research techniques, case studies, observation, key informant interviews and questionnaire survey. Results from the study show that the lower EwasoNyiro basin has nine operational irrigation schemes which households along the basin depend to practice irrigation farming. Irrigation has diversified the means of livelihood of the people and is an important source of food in the lower EwasoNyiro basin. Due to irrigation practices, environmental degradation has been experienced. These include, soil erosion, deforestation, salinity and water logging. However biocide and chemical fertilizers use is low in these irrigation schemes. Environmental conservation practices are rarely practised in the irrigation schemes with minimal cases reporting soil erosion control, afforestation, soil fertility management and safe use of agro-chemicals. The study recommends portable means of lifting water from the river schemes and environmental conservation at the household level and at the scheme level in the short term. We also recommend policy measures that will ensure flood control at the catchment level as this will enablesetting up of permanent irrigation schemes in the study area as a long-term solution.
https://crimsonpublishers.com/mcda/fulltext/MCDA.000545.php
For more open access journals in Crimson Publishers please click on link: https://crimsonpublishers.com
For more articles on international journal of agronomy impact factor please click on below link: https://crimsonpublishers.com/mcda/
Nepal's history of water management_Dr. Hari Krishna ShreshthaSaciWATERs
Nepal’s History of Water Management Institutions: Is there a Role for them in Adapting to
Water Scarcity?
- Dr. Hari Krishna Shrestha, Nepal Engineering College
Forms of Water Supply, Conservation and use in Banigbe District, Municipality...IJAEMSJORNAL
Rural populations in underdeveloped countries like Benin have difficult access to safe drinking water. This research aims to study the forms of water supply, conservation and use in Banigbé district. The methodological approach revolves around data collection through documentary research; data processing and results analysis. It appears that 88.75% of the 80 households selected for the survey in Banigbé, use at-risk sources (rivers; Private PEA; traditional wells). Only 11.25% have access to water from conventional sources such as the National Water Society of Benin (SONEB) and the Drilling of Human Motric Pumps (FPM). 88.75% of those selected for the survey also said that they do not treat drinking water at any source. It is therefore necessary to improve the quality of the water to which the populations of Banigbé have access to, and this through the disinfection of water from at risk sources and the proliferation of village hydraulic equipment in the district of Banigbé.
Issues, Challenges and Opportunities for Making India zero Water WasteJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Paper looks at the criticality of water as Elixir of Life and its role and importance in making human beings happy, healthy and productive. Considering the limitations imposed by the limited availability of potable water in the face of ever increasing human population and increasing demand for water, paper looks at the options of conserving, preserving , valuing and managing water so that water remains perpetually available to humanity- both present and future
Cities are usually viewed as sinks; pulling in water resources for domestic and industrial needs. But they can also be seen as sponges as they release water. Usually , however, this is of decreased quality. But if we can make better use of this contaminated water, we can help avert resource crises in the future.
Presented by Birhanu Z. Birhanu, Matthew P. McCartney, Bharat Sharma, Joshua Ogunwole, Gerba Leta and Seleshi B. Awlachew at the International Conference on Ecosystem Conservation and Sustainable Development, Ambo University, Ethiopia, 10-12 February 2011.
Water Management in Rural Areas in a Changing ClimateCIFOR-ICRAF
This presentation by Prof. Edward Pierzgalski from the Warsaw University of Life Sciences focuses on the main issues of water management in rural areas, climate change versus water resources, water management in agriculture versus climate change and what we should do.
Presentation is an attempt to showcase role and importance of water as a gift of nature and as critical element for the sustainability of humanity, flora and fauna, and needs to be preserved, protected, promoted so as to make it universally available to all living organsim occupying space on this planet
Challenges of Water Supply and its Effect on Economic Production: A Case Stud...Premier Publishers
In recent years, Ussa has faced various challenges in water supply which has been a major concern to law makers and the government of Taraba state. This study therefore is aimed at examining the various problems and prospect of water supply in Ussa Local Government. The specific objectives were to identify the existing sources of water supply in Ussa Local Government of Taraba state, to examine the problems and prospect associated with each source in the study area, and to proffer alternative measure to appropriate quarters. Data were collected from 150 respondent of the study area. The data were analyzed using frequency tables and simple percentage statistics. The results revealed that 87.1% of the respondents agreed that there is water shortage in the area which as a result has led to increase charges by the suppliers, 51.3% said the water was good. More than 60% of the respondent claimed that the population of the study area usually consumes the water directly without any method of purification, and that the water is mostly used for domestic purposes. The study also reveals that 68.1% problem of water supply problem is seasonality and distance to source. Finally, the research shows that there are 28 boreholes existing in the study area while only 15 of the boreholes are functioning at the time when the research was conducted. The study recommends government at all levels to increase investment in providing water to the residents of the study area.
Effectiveness of drip irrigation in enhancing smart farming: a micro-study in...AkashSharma618775
This study aims to examine the effectiveness of drip irrigation in enhancing smart farming in the midnorth of Uganda. A descriptive review was adopted targeting one smart farm in the district. Data was gathered by
means of an interview guide and a farmers’ observation guide, and it was analysed using content analysis
correspondingly. The outcomes suggest that drip irrigation does not represent a large fraction of irrigation systems
in mid-north Uganda and the world in general; however, a number of new drip irrigation systems are being set-up
notwithstanding the very slow pace. Further revelation suggests that farmers can benefit from drip irrigation
through gaining knowledge and skills from visits and advises from the frequent visits; being a source of income
when the produce are sold; as well as providing food security for families, the adjacent community and the district
as a whole. Nonetheless, drip irrigation faces challenges of dearth of commitment by some members of the family,
untimely delivery of agro inputs, over cultivation of the land and very expensive inputs. It is obvious that drip
irrigation technologies are essential in enhancing smart farming in Oyam district, mid-north Uganda and the
country as a whole. The outcomes of the study can be useful as a source for scaling out drip irrigation in the region
and beyond especially when mounting a parameter on integration of drip irrigation on community development
agendas for small-holder farmers as targeted by the government’s agricultural cluster development programme.
This article contributes to the budding body of information on smart farming by emphasising obtainable
prospects, which can generate more pro-active small scale drip irrigation technologies.
Rainwater harvesting (RWH) considering as a technique system is being exploited of the variance topographic nature of the earth's surface, such as the use of valleys, depressions and oases , or through the berms or small dams from stone or cisterns building , to collect then reserve and store rainwater and floods during winter periods in various ways that differs in the purpose of collecting them depending on their rainfall rates and reuse when needed, whether for drinking, supplementary agricultural irrigation or to feed groundwater. Iraq in general and Nineveh Governorate in particular have been experiencing severe environmental conditions in the past two years, (2020/2021) & (2021/2022), and the most important of which is the rainfall lowing and the increasing demographic growth offset by significant water consumption, so as to ensure continued food production, increased irrigation projects have become urgent. Iraq is one of the countries that suffers from water scarcity in general and the amount of rainfall ranges (99.8 billion cubic meters/year) fluctuating and irregular distribution, so it requires investing this quantity and managing its use rationally by the system of rainwater harvesting .Northern of Iraq, including Nineveh Governorate is characterize by cereal winter crops production by depends mainly on rain fall to produce winter crops such as Wheat and Barley by rainfed agriculture method with rain requirements of more than (400mm/year), the rate of rainfall for a period (1970-2011) reached (170.3 mm/year).The rainy season in Nineveh Governorate extends from November to the end of May with fluctuating falls and small amounts that do not meet the needs of agricultural crops. This current study was prepared to activate the potential for harvesting rainwater for agricultural uses in the rain-fed areas prevailing in Nineveh Governorate. The agricultural system in semi-dry areas, including Nineveh Governorate, suffers from drought due to lack of rain and lack of yield in winter crops, including wheat and barley, which attracts the attention of researchers and stakeholders in finding a strategic solution to this problem, which lies in the activation of rainwater harvesting techniques, which is an integrated system for water management in rain lands in semi-dry areas to meet the lack of water need for agricultural crops. This system includes facilitating the flow of rainwater through canyons according to the decline of the land towards depressions, valleys and water basins prepared for this purpose to conduct supplementary irrigation with sprinkler irrigation techniques to activate the productivity of agricultural crops ,improve the performance capacity of rainfed farming systems, sustain green cover, reduce biodiversity extinction and address the problem of environmental drought to achieve agricultural sustainability.
Effectiveness of Watershed Management- Means Of Economical Development- A Cas...IOSR Journals
Abstract: Water is the life-blood of the environment, without water no living beings can survive. Water plays
unique role in development of all sectors in any economy of every country. Water is used for agricultural,
domestic, industrial, power generation and other various purposes. But misuses of water resources cause
widespread degradation of soil and disrupt the supply of potable water, generate massive economical loss.
Hence it becomes necessary to harness the water resources available on Earth through the application of
science and technology. This paper presents one such case study where large amount of rainwater is possible to
direct to recharge ground water resources. Kaneri is a small village located at distance of 10 Kms. from
Kolhapur city. It is planned to take such engineering and biological measures which will direct this extra runoff
to ground water storage. The most significant feature of the work is that if such technologies are developed and
adopted at larger scale in rural areas, it will prevent thousands of villages of the country from water supply by
tankers. Moreover this will also help us for economical development of village people which mainly occurs due
to water scarcity.
Issues, Challenges and Opportunities for Making India zero Water WasteJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Paper looks at the criticality of water as Elixir of Life and its role and importance in making human beings happy, healthy and productive. Considering the limitations imposed by the limited availability of potable water in the face of ever increasing human population and increasing demand for water, paper looks at the options of conserving, preserving , valuing and managing water so that water remains perpetually available to humanity- both present and future
Cities are usually viewed as sinks; pulling in water resources for domestic and industrial needs. But they can also be seen as sponges as they release water. Usually , however, this is of decreased quality. But if we can make better use of this contaminated water, we can help avert resource crises in the future.
Presented by Birhanu Z. Birhanu, Matthew P. McCartney, Bharat Sharma, Joshua Ogunwole, Gerba Leta and Seleshi B. Awlachew at the International Conference on Ecosystem Conservation and Sustainable Development, Ambo University, Ethiopia, 10-12 February 2011.
Water Management in Rural Areas in a Changing ClimateCIFOR-ICRAF
This presentation by Prof. Edward Pierzgalski from the Warsaw University of Life Sciences focuses on the main issues of water management in rural areas, climate change versus water resources, water management in agriculture versus climate change and what we should do.
Presentation is an attempt to showcase role and importance of water as a gift of nature and as critical element for the sustainability of humanity, flora and fauna, and needs to be preserved, protected, promoted so as to make it universally available to all living organsim occupying space on this planet
Challenges of Water Supply and its Effect on Economic Production: A Case Stud...Premier Publishers
In recent years, Ussa has faced various challenges in water supply which has been a major concern to law makers and the government of Taraba state. This study therefore is aimed at examining the various problems and prospect of water supply in Ussa Local Government. The specific objectives were to identify the existing sources of water supply in Ussa Local Government of Taraba state, to examine the problems and prospect associated with each source in the study area, and to proffer alternative measure to appropriate quarters. Data were collected from 150 respondent of the study area. The data were analyzed using frequency tables and simple percentage statistics. The results revealed that 87.1% of the respondents agreed that there is water shortage in the area which as a result has led to increase charges by the suppliers, 51.3% said the water was good. More than 60% of the respondent claimed that the population of the study area usually consumes the water directly without any method of purification, and that the water is mostly used for domestic purposes. The study also reveals that 68.1% problem of water supply problem is seasonality and distance to source. Finally, the research shows that there are 28 boreholes existing in the study area while only 15 of the boreholes are functioning at the time when the research was conducted. The study recommends government at all levels to increase investment in providing water to the residents of the study area.
Effectiveness of drip irrigation in enhancing smart farming: a micro-study in...AkashSharma618775
This study aims to examine the effectiveness of drip irrigation in enhancing smart farming in the midnorth of Uganda. A descriptive review was adopted targeting one smart farm in the district. Data was gathered by
means of an interview guide and a farmers’ observation guide, and it was analysed using content analysis
correspondingly. The outcomes suggest that drip irrigation does not represent a large fraction of irrigation systems
in mid-north Uganda and the world in general; however, a number of new drip irrigation systems are being set-up
notwithstanding the very slow pace. Further revelation suggests that farmers can benefit from drip irrigation
through gaining knowledge and skills from visits and advises from the frequent visits; being a source of income
when the produce are sold; as well as providing food security for families, the adjacent community and the district
as a whole. Nonetheless, drip irrigation faces challenges of dearth of commitment by some members of the family,
untimely delivery of agro inputs, over cultivation of the land and very expensive inputs. It is obvious that drip
irrigation technologies are essential in enhancing smart farming in Oyam district, mid-north Uganda and the
country as a whole. The outcomes of the study can be useful as a source for scaling out drip irrigation in the region
and beyond especially when mounting a parameter on integration of drip irrigation on community development
agendas for small-holder farmers as targeted by the government’s agricultural cluster development programme.
This article contributes to the budding body of information on smart farming by emphasising obtainable
prospects, which can generate more pro-active small scale drip irrigation technologies.
Rainwater harvesting (RWH) considering as a technique system is being exploited of the variance topographic nature of the earth's surface, such as the use of valleys, depressions and oases , or through the berms or small dams from stone or cisterns building , to collect then reserve and store rainwater and floods during winter periods in various ways that differs in the purpose of collecting them depending on their rainfall rates and reuse when needed, whether for drinking, supplementary agricultural irrigation or to feed groundwater. Iraq in general and Nineveh Governorate in particular have been experiencing severe environmental conditions in the past two years, (2020/2021) & (2021/2022), and the most important of which is the rainfall lowing and the increasing demographic growth offset by significant water consumption, so as to ensure continued food production, increased irrigation projects have become urgent. Iraq is one of the countries that suffers from water scarcity in general and the amount of rainfall ranges (99.8 billion cubic meters/year) fluctuating and irregular distribution, so it requires investing this quantity and managing its use rationally by the system of rainwater harvesting .Northern of Iraq, including Nineveh Governorate is characterize by cereal winter crops production by depends mainly on rain fall to produce winter crops such as Wheat and Barley by rainfed agriculture method with rain requirements of more than (400mm/year), the rate of rainfall for a period (1970-2011) reached (170.3 mm/year).The rainy season in Nineveh Governorate extends from November to the end of May with fluctuating falls and small amounts that do not meet the needs of agricultural crops. This current study was prepared to activate the potential for harvesting rainwater for agricultural uses in the rain-fed areas prevailing in Nineveh Governorate. The agricultural system in semi-dry areas, including Nineveh Governorate, suffers from drought due to lack of rain and lack of yield in winter crops, including wheat and barley, which attracts the attention of researchers and stakeholders in finding a strategic solution to this problem, which lies in the activation of rainwater harvesting techniques, which is an integrated system for water management in rain lands in semi-dry areas to meet the lack of water need for agricultural crops. This system includes facilitating the flow of rainwater through canyons according to the decline of the land towards depressions, valleys and water basins prepared for this purpose to conduct supplementary irrigation with sprinkler irrigation techniques to activate the productivity of agricultural crops ,improve the performance capacity of rainfed farming systems, sustain green cover, reduce biodiversity extinction and address the problem of environmental drought to achieve agricultural sustainability.
Effectiveness of Watershed Management- Means Of Economical Development- A Cas...IOSR Journals
Abstract: Water is the life-blood of the environment, without water no living beings can survive. Water plays
unique role in development of all sectors in any economy of every country. Water is used for agricultural,
domestic, industrial, power generation and other various purposes. But misuses of water resources cause
widespread degradation of soil and disrupt the supply of potable water, generate massive economical loss.
Hence it becomes necessary to harness the water resources available on Earth through the application of
science and technology. This paper presents one such case study where large amount of rainwater is possible to
direct to recharge ground water resources. Kaneri is a small village located at distance of 10 Kms. from
Kolhapur city. It is planned to take such engineering and biological measures which will direct this extra runoff
to ground water storage. The most significant feature of the work is that if such technologies are developed and
adopted at larger scale in rural areas, it will prevent thousands of villages of the country from water supply by
tankers. Moreover this will also help us for economical development of village people which mainly occurs due
to water scarcity.
INDIAN SCENARIO OF WATER RESOURCES - AN OVERVIEW, INTEGRATED WATER MANAGEMENT...Venkataraju Badanapuri
Water is life sustaining liquid. It is one of the most important natural resources which is essential for the existence of living organisms and things including humans and wildlife, food production, food security, sustainable development and alleviate the poverty of the country. Despite of having blessed with enormous water resources (e.g., Mt. Himalaya’s originated Holy River Ganges, and its several tributaries from the north, Kaveri River in the south, ever rain forests [e.g., Mousinram near Cherrapunji], world’s tastiest waters of the Siruvani River in Coimbatore, Western Ghats Basin, network of fresh water resources etc.,), “water problem” is huge ‘a big threat and cross cut problem in India’. Water is most essential and widely distributed key resource to meet the basic need for livelihoods,
https://waterpartnership.org.au/hydrogeology-of-the-dry-zone-central-myanmar-published/
https://waterpartnership.org.au/publications/
https://waterpartnership.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Hydrogeology-of-the-Dry-Zone-Central-Myanmar-Summary.pdf
Hydrogeology of the Dry Zone, Central Myanmar
Hydrogeology of the Dry Zone – Central Myanmar, is a major study by Dr Leonard Drury, prepared with assistance from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI). The study revises and updates hydrogeological surveys and a drilling program begun in the late 1970s to mid-1980s. It represents an understanding of the groundwater resources of the Dry Zone based on decades of experience from hydrogeologists from Myanmar and Dr Drury’s extensive international experience (read full summary).
Download Book: Hydrogeology of the Dry Zone, Central Myanmar 118mb
Acknowledgements
This report has been prepared by Dr Len Drury, Aqua Rock Konsultants, with assistance from the Groundwater Division, Irrigation
and Water Utilization Management Department (IWUMD) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI).
The figures and maps were digitised by International Centre Environmental Management (ICEM). The text was peer reviewed by
the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).
The author is grateful to colleagues (active and retired) from the Rural Water Supply Division (RWSD) of the Agricultural
Mechanisation Department (AMD) and IWUMD, other government departments, universities, city and township development
committees, Non-Government Organisations, and consulting companies who readily provided their hydrogeological reports
and databases. Special thanks to Deputy Director General U Tin Maung Aye Htoo, Director U Htay Lwin, and Assistant Director
U Than Zaw (IWUMD) whose professionalism and enthusiasm was outstanding; and U Myint Thein, Hydrogeological Advisor
to the National Water Resources Committee (NWRC) – Advisory Group, who facilitated meetings and gave valuable input.
Research Interests: Hydrogeology, Myanmar, Dry Zone, and central myanmar
Experimental Investigation of a Household Refrigerator Using Evaporative-Cool...inventy
The objective of this paper was to investigate experimentally the effect of Evaporative-cooled condenser in a household refrigerator. The experiment was done using HCF134a as the refrigerant. The performance of the household refrigerator with air-cooled and Evaporative-cooled condenser was compared for different load conditions. The results indicate that the refrigerator performance had improved when evaporative-cooled condenser was used instead of air-cooled condenser on all load conditions. Evaporativecooled condenser reduced the energy consumption when compared with the air-cooled condenser. There was also an enhancement in coefficient of performance (COP) when evaporative-cooled condenser was used instead of air-cooled condenser. The Evaporative cooled heat exchanger was designed and the system was modified by retrofitting it, instead of the conventional air-cooled condenser by making drop wise condensation using water and forced circulation over the condenser. From the experimental analysis it is observed that the COP of evaporative cooled system increased by 13.44% compared to that of air cooled system. So the overall efficiency and refrigerating effect is increased. In minimum constructional, maintenance and running cost, the system is much useful for domestic purpose. This study also revealed that combining a evaporative cooled system along with conventional water cooled system under the condition that the defrost water obtained from the freezer is used for drop wise condensation over condenser and water cooled condensation of the condenser at the bottom using remaining defrost water would reduce the power consumption, work done and hence further increase in refrigerating effect of the system. The study has shown that such a system is technically feasible and economically viable
Copper Strip Corrossion Test in Various Aviation Fuelsinventy
This research work takes in to account of corrosiveness test on various aviation fuels in the state of Telengana (India). The purpose of this experiment is to determine the corrosiveness test of fuels. This determination will be accomplished by using copper strip corrosion test by using the copper strip experiment we can determine the corrosive property of the fuel and hence the efficiency of fuel. The research covers the importance of knowing the corrosive property of different petroleum fuels including aviation turbine fuel.
Additional Conservation Laws for Two-Velocity Hydrodynamics Equations with th...inventy
A series of the differential identities connecting velocities, pressure and body force in the twovelocity hydrodynamics equations with equilibrium of pressure phases in reversible hydrodynamic approximation is obtaned.
Comparative Study of the Quality of Life, Quality of Work Life and Organisati...inventy
People’s lives are increasingly centred on work; they spend at least one-third of their time within the organisations that employ them. Investigating the factors that interfere with employees’ well-being and the organisational environment is becoming an increasing concern in organisations. This article identifies the criteria of the quality of life (QoL), quality of working life (QWL) and organisational climate instruments to point out their similarities. For bibliographic construction and data research, articles were sought in national and international journals, books and dissertations/articles in SciELO, Science Direct, Medline and Pub Med databases. The results show direct relationships amongst QoL, QWL and organisational climate instruments. The relationship between QoL and QWL instruments is based on fair compensation, social interaction, organisational communication, working conditions and functional capacity. QWL and organisational climate instruments are related through social interaction and interfaces. QoL and organisational climate instruments are related based on social interaction, organisational communication, and work conditions.
A Study of Automated Decision Making Systemsinventy
The decision making process of many operations are dependent on analysing very large data sets, previous decisions and their results. The information generated from the large data sets are used as an input for making decisions. Since the decisions to be taken in day to day operations are expanding, the time taken for manual decision making is also expanding. In order to reduce the time, cost and to increase the efficiency and accuracy, which are the most important things for customer satisfaction, many organisations are adopting the automated decision making systems. This paper is about the technologies used for automated decision making systems and the areas in which automated decisions systems works more efficiently and accurately.
Crystallization of L-Glutamic Acid: Mechanism of Heterogeneous β -Form Nuclea...inventy
The mechanism of heterogeneous nucleation of β-form L-glutamic acid was deeply investigated in cooling crystallization. The present study found that the β-form crystals were epitaxially grown on the α-form crystals and they were preferably crystallized on the (011) and (001) surfaces instead of the (111) surfaces of α- form crystals. This result was explained via the molecular simulation. The molecular simulation indicated that the different surfaces of α-form crystals provided different functional groups, resulting in different sites for the heterogeneous nucleation of β-form crystals. Here, the functional group were COO- , C=O and O-H on the (011) and (001) surfaces of α-form crystals, respectively, while it was the NH3 + on the (111) surfaces of α-form crystals. As such, the degree of lattice matching (E) between the β-form crystals and the various surfaces of α- form crystal was distinguished, where the degree of lattice matching (E) between the β-form crystals and the (011), (001) and (111) surfaces of α-form crystal were estimated as 5.30, 5.25 and 2.39, respectively, implying that the (011) and (001) surfaces of α-form crystal were more favorable to generate the heterogeneous nucleation of β-form crystals than the (111) surfaces of α-form crystal
Evaluation of Damage by the Reliability of the Traction Test on Polymer Test ...inventy
In recent decades, polymers have undergone a remarkable historical development and their use has been greatly imposed by gradually dethroning most of the secular materials. These polymer materials have always distinguished themselves by their simple shaping and inexpensive price, their versatility, lightness, and chemical stability but despite their massive use in everyday life as well as in advanced technologies. Generally, these materials still not understood which requires a thorough knowledge of their chemical, physical, rheological and mechanical properties. This paper, we study the mechanical behavior of an amorphous polymer: Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene “ABS” by means of uniaxial tensile testing on pierced test pieces with different notch lengths ranging between 1 to 14mm.The proposed approach consists in analyzing the evolution of the global geometry of the obtained strain curves by taking into account the zones and characteristic points of these curves as well as the effect of the damage on the mechanical behavior of the polymer ABS, in order to visualize the evolution of the damage by a static model
Application of Kennelly’model of Running Performances to Elite Endurance Runn...inventy
: The model of Kennelly between distance (Dlim) and exhaustion time (tlim) has been applied to the individual performances of 19 elite endurance runners (World-record holders and Olympic winners) from P. Nurmi (1920-1924) to M. Farah (2012) whose individual best performances on several different distances are known. Kennelly’s model (Dlim = k tlim ) can describe the individual performances of elite runners with a high accuracy (errors lower than 2 %). There is a linear relationship between parameters k and exponents of the elite runners and the extreme values correspond to S. Coe (k = 15.8; = 0.851) and E. Zatopek (k = 6.57; = 0.984). Exponent can be considered as a dimensionless index of aerobic endurance which is close to 1 in the best endurance runners. If it is assumed than maximal aerobic speed can be maintained 7 min in elite endurance runners, exponent is equal to the normalized critical speed (critical speed/maximal aerobic speed) computed from exhaustion times equal to 3 and 12.5 min in these runners.
Development and Application of a Failure Monitoring System by Using the Vibra...inventy
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Rainwater Harvesting Technologies in Makueni County, Kenya
1. Research Inventy: International Journal Of Engineering And Science
Vol.5, Issue 2 (February 2015), PP 39-49
Issn (e): 2278-4721, Issn (p):2319-6483, www.researchinventy.com
39
Rainwater Harvesting Technologies in Makueni County, Kenya
1
M. W. Kimani, 2
A. N. Gitau and 3
D. Ndunge
1
Dept. of Real Estate and Construction Management, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
2
Dept. of Environmental and Biosystems Engineering, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
3
Dept. of Environmental and Biosystems Engineering, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
ABSTRACT: Rainwater harvesting has been in existence for many years and has positively impacted life,
agriculture and economy. Despite these known benefits of rainwater harvesting, Makueni County’s population
is slowly adopting rainwater harvesting technologies. Water scarcity still remains a major constraint to life and
economic development in the County. The aim of this paper is to evaluate rainwater harvesting technologies and
the factors contributing to adoption of the technologies in the ASAL areas with Makueni County being the case
study. The study was conducted in Wanzauni and Itetani locations in Tulimani division, Mbooni West district,
Makueni County within Kenya’s Eastern Region which lies within the arid and semi arid ecological zones of
Kenya. A total of 160 household questionnaires were administered, focus group discussions and key informants
interviews done during data collection exercise. The data was analyzed using Statistical package for social
scientists (SPSS). Various rainwater harvesting technologies (RWHTs) are used within Makueni County
including macro-catchment (earth dams, sand/sub-surface dams), micro-catchment (Zai pits, strip catchment,
tillage, contour and semi-circular bunds) and rooftop rainwater harvesting technologies with rooftop catchment
being the most commonly used technique. However, adoption of these RWHTs in Makueni County is slow
irrespective of their potential to improve livelihoods. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to predict
factors affecting adoption of RWHTs within 160 households in Makueni County. Some of the factors found to
have statistically-significant positive effect on the adoption of RWHT are gender, literacy levels, social and
economic status and technological know-how on RWHT. Ways of promoting the adoption of RWHTs such as
capacity building and training, poverty alleviation through enhancement of income generation activities,
enhanced formation of community groups aimed at water development activities, and improved designs
incorporating mechanized technologies in favour of women and children, are recommended.
KEYWORDS: Rainwater Harvesting (RWH), Rainwater Harvesting Technologies (RWHT), Adoption, Arid
and Semi-Arid Areas (ASALs), Makueni County.
I. INTRODUCTION
Rain is the primary source of water known in the hydrological cycle, while rivers, lakes and ground
water are all secondary sources. In present times, there is heavy dependency on such secondary sources of
water and in the process, it is forgotten that rain is the ultimate source that feeds all these secondary
sources (CSE, India 2003).
Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is making optimum use of rainwater at the place where it falls so as to
attain self-sufficiency in water supply without being dependent on remote water sources (UN-HABITAT, 2004).
It is the intentional collection, storage and management of rainfall and other various forms of precipitation from
different catchment surfaces (Wanyoyi, 2002).
Rainwater harvesting is an ancient practice and has been in parts of the world for over 4000 years
(Worm and Hattum, 2006). Rainwater harvesting in Asia dates back to 10th
Century (Global Development
Research Center, 2002) and is also popular in rural Australia, parts of India, Africa and parts of the United
States. It was widely used for the provision of drinking water in the rural areas in Europe and Asia. Since 1990s,
urban RWH has also been on the rise in various parts of the world. For example, Singapore which has limited
resources in terms of land and water has turned heavily to rainwater harvesting. About 48% of its land is used as
water catchment area (Appan, 1997). Consequently, about 86% of its population live in high-rise buildings.
Water collected from roofs in the urban areas is harvested and stored for non-potable uses. This has saved about
4% of the water used in Singapore. Despite the recent developments in expansion of rainwater catchment
systems in Africa, adoption of RWH is slower as compared to other continents.
According to Mati (2007), various rainwater harvesting technologies have been in use for millennia and
new ones are being developed all the time. These can be classified as:
2. Rainwater Harvesting Technologies in Makueni County, Kenya
40
Macro-catchment technologies - This is a system that involves the collection of runoff from large
areas which are at an appreciable distance from where it is being used. These technologies handle large
runoff flows diverted from surfaces such as roads, hillsides, pastures. Hillside sheet/rill runoff
utilization, rock catchments, sand and earth dams are examples.
Micro-catchment technologies – those that collect runoff close to the growing crop and replenish the
soil moisture. Micro-catchment technologies are mainly used for growing medium water demanding
crops such as maize, sorghum, groundnuts and millet. Examples of these technologies are Zai pits, strip
catchment tillage, contour bunds, semi-circular bunds and meskat-type system.
Rooftop harvesting technologies - Have the advantage to collect relatively clean water.
For small-scale catchments, rainwater harvesting can be categorized according to the type of catchment surface
used and, by implication, the scale of activity (Nissen-Petersen, 1999) as presented in Fig 1.
Roof catchment
systems
Rock catchment
systems
Ground catchment
systems
Sand river storage,
water pans & earth
dams
Domestic
consumption
Livestock consumption, nurseries & small-scale irrigation, some
domestic use
TechnologyUse
Figure 1: Small-scale and medium-scale rainwater harvesting systems and uses (Gould and Nissen –
Petersen, 1999)
Overdependence on secondary sources of water coupled with the increasing climate change, has made
water to be a scarce resource in the world with about 783 million people in the world (11% of the world's
population) having no access to safe water. Lack of safe water and sanitation costs sub-Saharan Africa around
five (5) percent of its Gross Domestic Product each year. Kenya being in the sub-Saharan Africa it’s no
different. Like other Arid and Semi Arid (ASAL) parts of Kenya, Makueni County located within the Eastern
Region of Kenya has over the years been ravaged by decades of hunger and starvation. The County is
characterized by hot and dry climate for most of the year. Temperature ranges between 120
C and 320
C. Two
rainfall seasons with an average annual rainfall ranging from 150 to 650 mm are experienced with the long rains
occurring in March/April and the short rains in November/ December (Makueni County’s Integrated
Development Plan (CIDP), 2013).
Rainwater harvesting has been in existence for many decades as a way of augmenting available water
resources in the world. In the years of its existence, rainwater harvesting has positively impacted life, agriculture
and economy. Despite these known benefits of rainwater harvesting, Makueni County’s population is slowly
adopting rainwater harvesting technologies. Water scarcity still remains a major constraint to life and economic
development in the County. Although clean and safe water is a treasured commodity, many people in Makueni
County do not have access to it. People from the hilly places in the County rely on springs and shallow wells to
get their water for domestic use whereas in the low lands they mainly use boreholes, sand dams and earth dams
as their sources of water.
The aim of this paper is to evaluate rainwater harvesting technologies and the factors contributing to
adoption of the technologies in the ASAL areas with Makueni County being the case study.
II. MATERIALS AND METHODS
2.1 Study Area
The study was conducted in Mbooni West district, Makueni County within Kenya’s Eastern Region
which lies within the arid and semi arid ecological zones of Kenya. The County experiences two rainy seasons,
namely; the long rains occurring in March/April while the short rains occur in November/December. The hilly
parts of Mbooni and Kilungu receive between 800-1400mm of rainfall per year which has high potential for
crop production. There are extremely high temperatures of 35.80
C which are experienced in the low-lying areas
of the County leading to high evaporation which worsens the dry conditions (Makueni CIDP, 2013). Normally,
the rains are sometimes unreliable, erratic and inadequate.
3. Rainwater Harvesting Technologies in Makueni County, Kenya
41
The County is characterized by water scarcity, low food production and high poverty levels. It is prone
to frequent droughts that are usually worse in the low lying areas which receive little amount of rainfall,
averaging 500mm which is hardly enough to sustain crop production and the only economic activity which
many the local people rely on is small stock rearing. Drought is a major cause of poverty in the area and the
most vulnerable are women, children, the aged and the disabled. Drought recurs after every 2-3 years. As a
result, the scarce resources set aside for development programmes within the area are at times diverted towards
the provision of famine relief to the local people. This has had a negative impact on the development efforts in
the district.
The County has two major rivers; Athi River which is permanent and Thwake River which is a semi-
permanent. These two rivers are the major sources of water within the County. According to the Makueni
County’s Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) of 2013, there are other seasonal rivers which provide water to
the population during rainy seasons or shortly after the rains. Other sources of water include four (4) protected
springs, 117 boreholes, 289 water pans, 118 sand dams and 159 earth dams. The County’s current water demand
is about 22,113m3
/day against an average water production of 13,607m3
/day from the developed sources. This
implies that there is a huge deficit of unmet water demands of about 8,506m3
/day (about 38.5% of the County’s
population).
Makueni County is predominantly inhabited by the Kamba community and its 2015 population is
projected at 961,738 consisting of 468,298 males and 493,442 females (KNBS, 2013). There are high levels of
poverty within the County which stand at 64.3% (KIHBS, 2006). About 67% in the rural areas and 33% in
urban areas of the County’s population live below the poverty line. Literacy levels within Makueni County are
relatively high standing at 77.59% as compared to the literacy levels in Kenya which stand at 71.41% (Makueni
CIDP, 2013).
Subsistence farming is a major socio-economic activity within Makueni County. It is practiced under
rainfed agriculture and with the erratic rainfall patterns experienced within the area, sustainable food production
has been a nightmare in Makueni County. Other socio-economic activities include beekeeping, small-scale
trade, sand harvesting and charcoal burning. Access to health care in the County is low. With reference to the
Economics of Poor Sanitation in Kenya (WSP), Makueni County loses 638 million Kenya Shillings each year
due to poor sanitation, poor health care access time, premature death, health care costs and productivity. Some
of the diseases prevalent in the area are malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, stomach-ache and upper and lower
respiratory diseases.
2.2 Household Sampling Methods
A total of 160 households were selected from Wanzauni and Itetani locations in Tulimani division,
Mbooni West district using simple random sampling technique. In addition key informant interviews and focus
group discussions were done in these areas.
2.3 Data Collection and Analysis
The data collection exercise employed both primary and secondary data collection methods and was
done by administration of household questionnaires which had questions related to socio-economic
characteristics including gender, age, educational level, occupation, family size, land sizes, housing type, main
sources of water, accessibility, utilization, management and preservation, rainwater harvesting, food and
nutrition, water shortage related problems and their effects on health, hygiene and sanitation and human
security. Focus Group Discussions and interviews with key informants were also conducted among the leaders
from the area
Statistical package for social scientists (SPSS), qualitative data analysis computer programme was used
to analyse data for this research. The package was collated with the qualitative data then used to produce
descriptive statistics that have been used in the presentation of the findings in this report.
2.4 Logit Model
A binary lostic regression model (logit model) was used to determine and analyse factors affecting the
adoption of rainwater harvesting technologies in ASAL areas. The Logit Model was chosen because it’s simpler
in estimation than the Probit Model (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 1998) and that it is a standard method of analysis
when the outcome variable is dichotomous (Hosmer and Lemeshow, 2000), where adoption of rainwater
harvesting technologies is 1 and non-adoption is 0.
4. Rainwater Harvesting Technologies in Makueni County, Kenya
42
If Xi represents the set of parameters that affect adoption of rainwater harvesting technologies by ith
household
(1……..160), then Ui is an indirect utility derived from the adoption decision and is a function of explanatory
variables (X) and is expressed as shown in equation (1):
n
i
iii
XU 1
0 …………………………………………………………………
(1)
Where;
β0 is the intercept term
β0, β1, β2,…….βi are the coefficients associated with each explanatory variable X1, X2, X3……..Xi
Therefore, the probability the ith
household adopts rainwater harvesting technology influenced by (Xi) factors is
given by equation (2):
i
i
U
U
i
e
e
P
1
…………………………………………………………………
(2)
Where;
Pi is the probability that ith
household adopts rainwater harvesting technology
Taking the natural logs of the odds ratio (in favour of rainwater harvesting technologies) of equation (2), the
prediction equation for the ith
farmer (as known as the Logit Model) is presented in equation (3):
n
ii
i
X
P
P
PLogit
1
110
1
ln)( ………..…………………………………………
(3)
Variables used in the Logit Model
The explanatory variables used in the logic regression model are as presented in Table 1:
Table 1:Logit model explanatory variables code hypothesis
Variable Variable
Code
Expected Effect
Gender of household respondent B1 Women who are more concerned with water issues are expected to
positively influence the adoption of rainwater harvesting technology
(RWHT)
Age of household respondent B2 Age is expected to positively correlate with adoption of RWHT
Marital status of household respondent B3 Marital status is expected to positively affect adoption of RWHT
Education level of household respondent B4 Education is expected to positively influence adoption of RWHT
Occupation of household respondent B5 Occupation is expected to positively influence adoption of RWHT
Member of a social group (social status) B6 Social status is expected to positively correlate with adoption of RWHT
Source of income for the household B10 Source of monthly income is expected to positively affect the adoption
of RWHT
Household family size B11 This variable is hypothesized to correlate positively with adoption of
RWHT
Household land size B12 This variable is hypothesized to correlate positively with adoption of
RWHT
Household house roofing material B14 Roofing material of household house is expected to affect adoption of
RWHT either positively or negatively
Distance from the household to existing
water source
C2 Distance walked form homestead to the existing water source is
hypothesized to positively correlate with the adoption of RWHT
Training information on rainwater
harvesting
G1 Technological know-how on rainwater harvesting is expected to
positively affect the adoption of RWHT
5. Rainwater Harvesting Technologies in Makueni County, Kenya
43
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
3.1 Household Socio-Economic Characteristics
Among the 160 sampled households, 80 percent of those interviewed were females and 85% are
married. The household questionnaires were administered to household heads or any other responsible adult
person in the household at the time of the survey and majority (93%) of those contacted and interviewed were
above 28 years of age. Sixty six (66%) percent of the households were headed by persons with primary level of
education, while only five percent of the heads had post-secondary education. The average household size was
six (6) persons and majority (84%) of the households owned less than three acres of land. About 68 percent of
the households had permanent houses with 99 percent of the houses being iron sheet roofed. Farming is the main
source of livelihood with 52 percent of the respondents engaged in subsistence agriculture.
3.2 Health, Hygiene and Sanitation
Ninety five percent (95%) of the respondents reported that they have toilet facilities in their homesteads
and the remaining five (5) percent use their neighbor’s toilets. Due to scarcity of water during dry spells, water
borne diseases are common in the areas as people are unable to practice proper hygiene. Typhoid was reported
as the main water borne disease affecting majority (81%) of the households. Other diseases reported were
diarrhea and dysentery.
3.3 Food Security and Nutrition
The World Health Organization defines three aspects of food security: food availability, food access,
and food use. Food availability is having available sufficient quantities of food on a consistent basis. Food
access is having sufficient resources, both economic and physical, to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious
diet. Food use is the appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well as adequate water
and sanitation. Due to unreliable rainfall coupled with poor farming practices as a result of high poverty levels,
food production is low and is insufficient to sustain the household members. As a result, only 50% of the
households rely on their own production for food with the rest purchasing food from the markets (49%) and
insignificant percent (1%) receiving relief food. Those who purchase food spend an average of Kenya Shillings
300 per household per day on food.
3.4 Main Water Sources
About 81% of the households relied on rivers/streams for domestic, livestock and small –scale
irrigation purposes. Other sources include boreholes/wells, dams and roof catchments. On the issue of water
accessibility, the respondents indicated that they walk up to three (3) km and spending more than one (1) hour to
and from the water source.
3.5 Extent of Use of RWHT and Practices in Makueni County
Rainwater harvesting concept has been exploited in Kenya for many years with most focus on the arid
and semi-arid areas (ASALs) and rural areas (Otieno, 1994). Research, technological development and
awareness creation have concentrated on the use of very basic methods and technologies. Various techniques on
rainwater harvesting are being developed in Makueni County so as to address the problem of food insecurity.
These include macro-catchment RWHT such as earth dams, water pans, sand dams, shallow wells, rock
catchment structures; rooftop rainwater harvesting systems; and micro-catchment rainwater harvesting
technologies for agricultural farming. Common micro-catchment rainwater harvesting technologies include Zai
pits, strip catchment tillage, contour bunds, semi-circular bunds and meskat-type system.
3.5.1 Macro-Catchment RWHT
Sand Dams/Sub-Surface Dams
Sand/sub-surface dams are barriers constructed across sandy riverbeds to retain water within the
trapped sand upstream; they store water in the sand, preventing run-off. The sand filters and cleans the water,
and also tops up the ground water aquifer. Water from the sand/sub-surface dams is extracted through traditional
scooped holes, or through a pipe that leads to a tank or an infiltration gallery leading to a sealed shallow well
and is used for domestic, livestock and small-scale irrigation purposes. The water stored in sand/sub-surface
dams is also protected from high evaporation rates and thus the water can last for long periods without drying up
as compared to open water storage facilities. However, in some areas of the County, water from sand/sub-
surface dams is considered salty due to geological characteristics within the areas. Despite the salinity,
communities within these areas appreciate the dams as reliable sources of water as compared to lack of the rare
resource. Sand/sub-surface dams require relatively low capital costs, labour and minimal maintenance costs and
6. Rainwater Harvesting Technologies in Makueni County, Kenya
44
can last for many years. Records indicate that there are about 118 sand dams in Makueni County (Makueni
CIDP, 2013). Some of these dams include;
The Matiani Sand dam; which was built in September 2011 funded by Water Services Trust Fund (WSTF). It
has a capacity of about 120 m3
and about 150 beneficiaries who use the water for domestic use, livestock and
construction purposes and small scale irrigation. Occasionally, the sand in the dam is sold for construction
purposes to commercial dealers at about Ksh. 5,000 per seven (7) tonnes lorry.
Figure 2: Matiani sand dam
The Syiuni subsurface dam which was built in 2009 by the National Water Conservation and Pipeline
Company (NWCPC) and provides water to several villages including Muusini, Miw’ani, Malindi, Makakoi and
Kyandavi. Its capacity is about 1600m3
and was constructed using local sand, boulders and ballast. Moreover,
the dam has other components installed including a pump house and pumping unit, PVC pipeline system, a
water tower and a water kiosk. This project provides water for domestic usage, livestock and construction
purposes. To sustain the project, it is run by a select committee drawn from the villages and the water is sold to
the community at Ksh. 2 per a 20 liters jerry can. A small section of the community has individual water
connections to the water tower with individual meters.
Figure 2: Syiuni subsurface dam
Water Pans
Water pans/ponds are small earth dams whose storage capacities do not exceed 20,000 m3
and have a
shallow depth of less than 5m. Water from pans is suitable for livestock and irrigation (Waswa and Mpinduzi,
2007). Makueni County has about 289 water pans. However, most of these pans don’t survive an entire drought
season due to high rates of evaporation, leaching and sedimentation. Methods of extracting water from these
pans have also been an issue. Most of the community use water cans and calabashes to extract water from the
pond and carry the water cans by back/or hand. Water from these pans is at high risks of pollution since most of
them are not fenced and animals drink water from them directly. Water extraction cans and calabashes may also
cause pollution within the water pans. Water from the pans is mainly used for livestock and domestic purposes
in some areas.
Earth Dams
Earth dams are constructed to collect water from river valleys. Despite its poor quality, water collected
from earth dams is used to cater for livestock and domestic purposes. Water from earth dams is also used for
irrigation and other purposes such as construction. Earth dams have short life span due to high rates of
evaporation and sedimentation (SASOL and Maji na Ufanisi, 1999). Dams’ failure is common in the ASALs
due to land degradation, heavy pressure from livestock and denuded groundcover. Evaporation from open water
storage in ASALs can have a water loss that amounts to 0.9 - 1.4m within a period of 6 months (Falkenmark et
al., 2001). There are 159 surface dams in Makueni County (Makueni CIDP, 2013). However, earth dams and
7. Rainwater Harvesting Technologies in Makueni County, Kenya
45
other open water storage facilities including water pans/ponds within Makueni County face the problem of
evaporation just as in all other open water storage facilities in ASALs. Erratic rainfall and shortages leading to
frequent drought spell, high evapo-transpiration rates have resulted to unreliability and unsuitability of earth
dams. The available open water storage including dams, pans and ponds, though common, cannot sustain water
for a long time due to the high rates of evaporation.
3.5.2 Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting
From the study, about 60% of the residents of Makueni County harvest rain water at household level,
with rooftop catchment being the most commonly used technique the communities use gutter-to-tank
technology. All those who harvest water at their homesteads use gutter-to-tank technology. Rooftop rainwater
harvesting has shown a high degree of reliability especially to the households who have invested in sizable
rainwater harvesting systems. However, in some instances it is unreliable as most of the households lack
adequate capacity water storage tanks. Various storage facilities are used as illustrated in Fig 4 where over 60
percent of the communities lack enough storage facilities. Most (over 60%) of them have storage facilities of
less than 200litres capacity which cannot hold enough water throughout the year. Households that have invested
in sizable rainwater harvesting systems ranging from 1 to 10 m3
capacity, hardly suffer water shortage problems
and waterborne diseases. Rooftop RWH technology yields good quality water and is mostly implemented at
homesteads and schools. Water harvested from rooftops is mainly for domestic uses including drinking and
household chores. However, households that have enough storage facilities have small kitchen gardens and the
stored water is a source of drinking water for livestock. Pictures of the some of the rooftop rainwater storage
facilities are shown in Figs 5, 6 and 7.
Figure 4: Rainwater storage facilities
Figure 5: Jerrycan storage facilities in Tulimani division
Figure 6: Cement tank in Tulimani division Figure 7; Plastic tank donated by Lion’s club in
Kalamba division
0%
20%
40%
60%
10% 12% 14%
51%
14%
PercentageofUse
Storage Facility
Usage of RWH Storage Facility
8. Rainwater Harvesting Technologies in Makueni County, Kenya
46
3.5.3 Micro-Catchment RWHT
Micro-catchment RWHT provides high percentage of water per unit catchment areas hence plants grow
well with little rainfall. It involves water conservation that maximizes soil infiltration and increased water
holding capacity within the root zone and is one of the simplest and cheapest technologies. In Makueni County,
micro-rainwater harvesting technology has been in use since early 1990s. Most commonly used technologies are
Zai-pits, terracing (Fanya juu, Fanya chini) and strip catchment tillage, bunds (contour and semi-circular).
Studies show that crops planted using this technology give high yields with very little rainfall. Tisdale (1985)
reported that pitting (Zai-pits) concentrates rainwater in smaller area raising soil water content per unit volume
of soil hence raising water level in soil which favours crop nutrient uptake leading to increased crop yields. In
the short rains of 2009, a high yielding of maize crop was observed planted in pits in Kako division in Makueni
(Kathuli, 2015).
3.6 Factors Affecting Adoption of Rainwater Harvesting Technologies
Issues of adoption of RWHT in Makueni County have continued to pose a challenge to new
technologies irrespective of their potential to improve livelihoods. A logistic regression analysis was conducted
to predict factors affecting the adoption of rainwater harvesting technologies within 160 households in Makueni
County using gender, age, marital status, education and occupation of household head/respondent, social and
economic status, household family and land sizes, roofing material of household house, distance walked from
the homestead to the existing water source and technological know-how of the household head/respondent on
rainwater harvesting as explanatory variables. Fitness test of the logit model used in this study was done using
the Hosmer and Lemeshow statistics and was found to be within the ranges. The overall accuracy of the model
was 82.9%, Chi-square of 30.068, p-value of 0.872 which is greater than .000, d.f of 8, Nagelkerke’s R2
of .702
indicating a significant difference between predicted and observed values of the dependent variables (See Table
2).
3.6.1 Socio-Economic Factors
Gender, Age and Marital Status of Household Head/Respondent
Women are more concerned with water issues are expected to positively influence the adoption of
rainwater harvesting technology (RWHT). Most of the respondents (80%) were women since they are often
likely to be found at home and are willing to participate on water and sanitation issues as compared to men. It is
also their cultural role to be concerned with water issues within the Kamba community. Gender was statistically
confirmed to positively influence the adoption of rainwater harvesting technologies within the ASAL areas. The
odds ratio for gender is 2.038 implying that women can positively influence the adoption of rainwater harvesting
technologies.
The odds ratio of age of the respondents is 0.863 implying that age has a statistically negative effect on
the adoption of rainwater harvesting technology. Marital status affects the adoption of RWHT positively. Its odd
ratio is 4.490 indicating that married people are likely to adopt RWHT more than the youth. This can be
attributed to rights to making decisions and land ownership. Youths do not have right of their own
farms/homesteads hence cannot make decisions on the RWH technology to be used.
Literacy Level
Highest education level attained by the household head has a statistical positive effect on the adoption
of RWHT. The odds ratio of education level of household head is 5.909 implying that educated household heads
are more likely to adopt rainwater harvesting technologies. This is in-line with previous studies such as Tesfaye,
2001, Lloyd, 2015, Florence, 2013 and Ibrahim, 2013 which have indicated positive effect on the adoption of
RWHT.
Occupation and Income Sources
From the logical analysis results, occupation does not significantly affect the adoption of rainwater
harvesting technologies. The odds ratio of occupation is 0.913. However, the income per household is a key
contributor to the adoption of rainwater harvesting technologies. The odds ratio of household income is 5.257
implying that; the more income a household earns, the more likely the household will adopt rainwater harvesting
technology. This might be the biggest contributor to the water scarcity in Makueni County since majority of the
population are poor with over 70% of the County’s population living below the poverty line. These household
cannot afford construction materials to construct water storage facilities or buy the ready-made facilities. High
household income implies a greater incentive for investment in rainwater harvesting technologies and ability to
bear the risks that can be associated with its adoption (Lloyd, 2015).
9. Rainwater Harvesting Technologies in Makueni County, Kenya
47
Household Land
According to the Makueni CIDP (2013), the average land size for both small scale and large scale
farming households is about 3.44 Ha and 30.4 Ha respectively with only 19.8% of all land owners having legal
ownership documents (i.e. title deeds). Most households within the County rely on farming as a source of
livelihood and therefore land ownership is an indicator of household welfare as it provides direct benefit to
households and act as a resource of livelihood. Rights to a piece of land determine the nature of investments and
developments to be done on the land. Rainwater harvesting being one of the developments/investments that can
be done on a household land is threatened by lack of legal land ownership. This is statistically proven by the
odds ratio of household land rights of 1.755 in Table 2.
Social Capital
Households that are members of a group including women groups and self help groups among others
are more likely to adopt rainwater harvesting technologies. The odds ratio of for social capital is 1.521 implying
that the social status of a household increases the probability of the adoption of RWHT by 1.521. Poverty is one
of the setbacks towards the adoption of RWHT; many households within Makueni County cannot adopt RWHT
because they lack enough capital and credit access. Members of a group or organization have greater chances of
credit access hence invest in RWH projects as compared to those who don’t belong to a social group or
organization. Most of the water and rainwater harvesting projects in Makueni County are implemented through
groups and associations so as to ensure sustainability, accountability and ownership amongst the community.
This enhances the probability of those who belong to a group/organization to adopt RWHTs.
Table 2:Logit Model odds ratios of factors influencing adoption of rainwater harvesting technologies
Variable Exp (β)
Gender of household respondent 2.038
Age of household respondent 0.863
Marital status of household respondent 4.490
Education level of household respondent 5.909
Occupation of household respondent 0.913
Member of a social group (social capital) 1.521
Household income 5.257
Household family size 1.220
Household land size 1.755
Household house roofing material 3.611
Distance from the household to existing water source 7.203
Training information on rainwater harvesting 2.674
Note:
Sample size = 160, Hosmer and Lemeshow Test: Chi-square = 30.068, p-value = 0.872, d.f = 8, Nagelkerke’s R2
=
.702 and Overall model accuracy = 82.9%,
3.6.2 Technical Factors
According to KRA survey on community water projects (1998), the major cause of the projects’
failures is due to lack of technical interventions. Assessment of the infrastructure showed that the communities
were not fully involved in the planning and technology selection. Technical aspects of the projects including
gutters selection and methods of fixation, fixing taps, tank construction valves and operation and maintenance
guidelines are not fully understood nor issued to the community on the commissioning of the project.
Wanyonyi (undated) further identified the major technical constraints towards the adoption and success
of rainwater harvesting systems as; inadequate guidelines on the construction of RWH systems especially in the
rural areas, inadequate technological transfer to the beneficiaries (in cases of donor funded projects), lack of
training programmes on rainwater harvesting for stakeholders (beneficiaries artisans), poor technical selection
and usage of local materials in construction of RWH systems, improper sizing of rainwater storage systems,
inadequate water quality improvement structures, control and usage for safety and health and limited
technological transfer in rainwater harvesting at project level due to inadequate trained personnel in RWH.
Makueni County having most of the rainwater harvesting projects done as community projects is no
better. Technical issues including lack of proper guidelines on how to construct RWH systems, improper sizing
of the systems, lack of training on RWH, storage and management, poor local construction materials selection
and proper site for locating RWH systems. About 93% of the respondents indicated that they had never been
trained on rainwater harvesting, health and sanitation and food and nutrition. Erratic rainfall received within the
County coupled with lack of data on rainfall intensities, event duration, water infiltration and data on soil
10. Rainwater Harvesting Technologies in Makueni County, Kenya
48
storage properties, and improper training on rainfall data simulation lead to improper sizing of RWH storage
facilities. High losses through seepage and evaporation make water pans/ponds and earth/surface dams never fill
to their expected capacities.
Poor water extraction methods from the storage facilities as a result of improper designs lead to safety
and health issues. People and animals get water directly from unprotected dams and ponds. This lead to
pollution and in some cases drowning. The major common way of water extraction from sand dams is a
drudgery method of scooping sand and fetching water from the holes using jerry cans.
Respondent’s awareness of rainwater harvesting technologies and their technical aspects have
statistically-significant positive impact on adoption of the technologies. The odds ratio of information on
rainwater harvesting is 2.674 implying that households which have received training on rainwater harvesting
have a greater chance to adopt RWHT than those who are not aware.
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
Rainwater harvesting has potential to make a significant contribution towards livelihoods in Makueni
County by proper harvesting, storing and management of the little water that falls. Various rainwater harvesting
technologies (RWHTs) are used within Makueni County including micro-catchment rainwater harvesting
technologies (i.e. earth dams, sand/sub-surface dams, shallow wells, rock catchment structures, systems),
rooftop rainwater harvesting and micro-catchment rainwater harvesting technologies for agricultural farming
(i.e. Zai pits, strip catchment tillage, contour bunds, semi-circular bunds and meskat-type system, with rooftop
catchment being the most commonly used technique with gutter-to-tank technology. However, there is slow
adoption of RWHT in Makueni County irrespective of their potential to improve livelihoods. Results from
logistic regression analysis conducted to predict factors affecting the adoption of rainwater harvesting
technologies within 160 households in Makueni County showed that some of the factors considered have
statistically-significant positive effect on the adoption of RWHT. These include gender, literacy levels, social
and economic status and technological know-how on RWHT. To enhance adoption of RWHTs in Makueni
County and other ASAL areas, the following is recommended:
Water shortage affect rural women more since it’s their cultural role to provide water. They are more
concerned with rainwater harvesting projects as compared to men. Therefore, training and awareness
creation on RWHTs amongst women should be enhanced.
Literacy levels influence adoption of RWHTs and therefore school age going children should be
encouraged to go to school. To promote better knowledge on RWHTs, rainwater harvesting should be
introduced in school curriculum.
Poverty which is a major setback to the adoption of RWHTs should be alleviated by promoting income
generation activities to enhance adoption of RWHTs within the ASALs.
Community groups focused on RWH promote adoption of RWHTs and should therefore be enhanced.
Population within the ASALs should be encouraged to form community groups aimed at water
development activities as a way of promoting adoption of RWHTs.
Most of the rainwater harvesting technologies in Makueni County are labour intensive and cannot be
mechanized yet considerable volumes of soil need to be excavated during construction. There is need for
research into appropriate technologies to lessen the drudgery and address gender issues.
Water loss through evaporation and seepage from open reservoirs is a challenge within the ASALs.
Research on the ways of reducing this ought to be done.
Awareness on rainwater harvesting technologies including designs, suitability and management need to be
done within Makueni County.
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