Rising Water Levels in Great Rift Valley

Rising Water Levels in Great Rift Valley
Rising Water Levels in Great Rift Valley

The famous Lake Baringo in Great Rift Valley and Lake Bogoria a few kilometers south have risen to unseen levels in the past few years. Lake Baringo is a freshwater lake providing drinking water to vast numbers of people living in the area. While Lake Bogoria is salty, and home to a famous colony of flamingoes.

Rift Valley: Unprecedented Rising Water

Lake Baringo and Bogoria have risen tremendously in the past few years. The two lakes are separated by a few kilometers; however, if they contaminated each other, it would be a big disaster. If Lake Bogoria starts flowing into Lake Baringo, the outcome will be an ecological disaster, because Bogoria is highly alkaline (saline). Once that water reaches Lake Baringo, it will affect the fish, the bird-life, and generally the aquatic life. Thousands of acres of land have already been lost, too.

Jeremy Lenasolia is a resident from the Rift Valley region. He had been living here since he was born, Rift Valley is his homeland. His grandparents and ancestors all lived and died here. In Jeremy’s lifetime, he has never seen the water rise to this level. At first, residents thought they could seal the farm off, but the lake kept rising day and night. Eventually, the water covered all the farms, and they were forced to relocate.

“Our father lived here; our great grandfathers lived here too. As for now, we have no hope because we don’t see the water receding,” says Jeremy.

From the look of things and the unprecedented levels, the water is highly unlikely to recede.

The Once Thriving Community.

It is thought deforestation has led to the lakes filling up with silt. The unusually heavy rains also made the situation worse. Flooding has devastated the vital tourism and agricultural sectors. Communities used to thrive on these flooded areas, which were once dry land. Fisheries departments and local social amenities like hospitals had to be abandoned.

“This was a thriving community. There were homes, farms, schools, and there were hospitals. Much of that has now been drowned,” said Ferdinand Omondi, a local resident.

Emily Ombaso is a nurse from the affected areas. Since the flooding, her work has been immensely affected. Many people are unable to get to hospitals. Due to the flooding in the area, residents have to pay transport money to the locally made boats to be moved to their destinations. Other residents can’t afford to pay the transport fee to get to the hospital or even school.

The Deadly Risk Of Flooded Lakes

The flooded areas have also been infested with crocodiles. Most residents fear traveling over water in case of attacks. There has been a rise in injuries from crocodile attacks. Local clinics had to be moved to dry land, but not much of the facilities could be carried. Tents are being used to replace the flooded building plus the little amenities they could salvage from the flooded building. Most of the medical attendants do not have the medical amenities to treat the locals; therefore, the situation is getting tougher.

The clinic is currently funded by a charity called RAE. They also provide the locals with grass seed to rehabilitate the land. Murray Roberts set up RAE and has lived on the lake his whole life. The lakes merging isn’t his only fear. As the people move from the lake away from their flooded farms and so on, they have to go somewhere, and they are now starting to encroach on other people’s land. Therefore, it creates additional pressure for grazing and additional pressure for building, and the results of that, unfortunately, are going to be conflict.

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