Monitoring Surface Water Demand, Availability and Spatio-Temporal Variability in Tana River Basin

Abstract

Growing population, changing land use practices and increasing urbanization have escalated demand for surface and ground water. This has affected availability of water resources in the vast Tana River basin, the largest river basin in the country with many watersheds spanning diverse agro ecological areas. Rainfall shortage and drought experienced in many parts of the basin has impacted on water resources quality and quantity across the many watersheds within Tana River basin. Moreover, these activities have resulted into serious water abstraction, allocation and use challenges especially at watershed level. It is thence important to manage water demand amidst growing water uses competing needs. To understand how this can be achieved, this study will explore the contribution of various water budget components towards the basin’s water demand and availability. Specifically, the study will analyse the input of precipitation, evapotranspiration, discharge, run-off and base flow to the overall water budget within the Tana River Bain.