Policy Change: From Borrow Pits to Water Pans in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands

Abstract

Arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) are characterized by unfavourable rainfall distribution with frequent drought and flood events. In Kenya, these are coupled with unsustainable water management practices leading to water scarcity. These challenges are rooted in the existing policies, which do not encourage taking advantage of available opportunities to harness water resources in ASALs. For example, Kenya’s policy on managing borrow pits after a road construction dictates that the road contractor must return the borrow pits to their original state. This study explored the alternative use of turning borrow pits into water pans for improved water resources management in ASALs. Borrow pits that can be transformed into water pans along Rumuruti-Maralal Road were mapped. The study used secondary data sources, Cook’s methods for surface water determination, personal observations, focus group discussions, ArcGIS, and key informants’ interviews. This information was analysed using frequencies, cross-tabulation, descriptive ratio statistics, and volumetric computation of collectible waters in the borrow pits. Results show that there is potential for turning borrow pits into water pans. For instance, the 14 borrow pits mapped have the potential to hold 1,237,157 cubic meters of water. Out of the 14 borrow pits, 10 had a total of 110,156.5 cubic meters of water during the study period between February 2019 and April 2020. At this time, 81 percent of the residents along the Rumuruti-Maralal Road were using the borrow pit water for domestic purposes, watering their animals, and a few had attempted irrigating small plots of horticultural crops. Therefore, there is a need for a policy change to guide infrastructure development, especially roads, to turn borrow pits into water pans, where possible, instead of filling them up back to their original state, as the current policy dictates.