Turkana County has unveiled the first of six Piezometer stations at the Napuu aquifers basin courtesy of a partnership with the Universities of Nairobi and Oxford REACH program.
The Napuu station, the first of its kind, will be fitted with high tech monitoring equipment to provide real time data on water quality, water levels, hydro geological aspects, and impact of climate change.
The move marks a significant paradigm shift in integrating use of evidence informed data for addressing the twin challenge of water scarcity and poor water quality.
During the ground breaking at Napuu, Deputy Governor, Dr. John Erus acknowledged the input of Reach program in contributing towards realization of the County’s priority agenda of a more water secure population where both availability and access is guaranteed.
The Deputy Governor, added that the station will be used to continuously provide data, viable economic options that could be exploited in the Aquifer system while addressing the water access challenges. On his part, the director of Reach Program, Prof. Rob Hope described the station as a monitoring well for the main water resource that supplies the Lodwar Municipality area.
“This is very important for a number of reasons, We can see how recharge occurs over time and also measure abstraction.
This will help the county government understand how upstream changes in the Turkwel river affects the Napuu Aquifer recharge” said Prof. Hope.
Additionally, Prof. Hope said, that the Napuu station will generate data on how much water can be abstracted from the Aquifer without taking too much or too little.
The deputy Vice Chancellor of The University of Nairobi, Prof. Francis Mulaa described the making of the station as a classic example of translating Science Research to practical outcomes.
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