STORMWATER HARVESTING FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL WATER SUPPLY, MUA HILLS SETTLEMENT, MACHAKOS COUNTY, KENYA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22159/ijss.2025v13i1.53169Keywords:
Deforestation, Land use, Land cover, Storm water, Water resource, Water supplyAbstract
Objectives: Water though vital to all life forms, is unevenly distributed globally, with some areas facing drought and others experiencing floods. Increasing population and economic growth exacerbate the challenges of water availability. In Africa, rising climate variability leads to more frequent droughts and floods, increasing vulnerability and complicating sustainable water resource development. This situation highlights the urgent need to address decreasing per capita freshwater resources, inefficient use, and poor management of existing water supplies.This study aimed to investigate the implication of stormwater harvesting on the sustainability of the rural water supply system. To do so, it assessed whether the existing water supply met water demand, while also delineating the factors that affected stormwater supply. It also evaluated the potential for stormwater harvesting in augmenting rural water supply. In consequence, the study tested two mutually reinforcing assumptions. First that there was no significant difference between the existing water supply and water demand in the Mua settlement. Second that stormwater harvesting had significant potential for water supply in the Mua settlement.
Methods: The study was anchored on the game theory, systems theory, evaporation and transpiration theory, theory of natural resources, and theory of integrated water resource management. Essential concepts in the study were sustainability and the Internet of water things. The study employed social and descriptive survey designs with qualitative and quantitative methods, using purposive, stratified, cluster, and random sampling techniques.
Results: The research found that in the Mua Hills settlement, water demand surpassed the supply of 8.7m3/day as of 2024. It also established that stormwater harvesting was greatly hindered by the private land tenure that allowed residents to farm upstream, thereby polluting any dams built.
Conclusion: The study proposed strategies that could be employed to ensure stormwater harvesting for sustainable rural water supply. Based on spatial analysis, it delineated 29.64% of the settlement as entirely unsuitable for development. Further, the study recommended constructing small dams and water pans upstream to supply water downstream. The study emphasized the need for a catchment-based approach to water resource management. Correspondingly, it advocated for the development of catchment planning and management policies, and pertinent strategies. Together, these would ensure sustainable stormwater harvesting. Finally, the study suggested the need for further research on integrating land use and water resource conservation.
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