Gucha River, referred to as the River Kuja by
Luo Luo may refer to:
Luo peoples and languages
*Luo peoples, an ethno-linguistic group of eastern and central Africa
**Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania or Joluo, an ethnic group in western Kenya, eastern Uganda, and northern Tanzania.
*** Luoland, th ...
community originates in the highlands of Kiabonyoru in
Nyamira County passing through the heart of
Gucha District running west through Migori country where it is joins the
Migori River and flows as the Kuja-Migori River into
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...
.
As it runs across the
Gusii Land part of it becomes the
Mogonga River, known for its deadly effects when it floods. Mogonga and Gucha are almost equal in size and they meet just 1 mile before flowing through the
Ogembo Town center.
The Gucha-Migori river changed its course near its mouth in 2001-2002, moving north to its present location.
About 45 km from
Migori
Luo people, Migori also known as Suna-Migori is a multi-ethnic municipal town which acts as the capital of Migori County, Kenya. The town is located 63 kilometers south of Kisii, Kenya, Kisii town and 22 km north of the Tanzanian borde ...
, the Gogo Falls dam was completed in 1956 with a hydropower capacity of 2MW, connected to the Kenyan national grid.
The dam is operated by
Kenya Electricity Generating Company
Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC abbreviated to KenGen, is a government enterprise in the Republic of Kenya charged with the production of electricity for the country. KenGen is the largest electric power producer in Kenya, generating ...
(Kengen).
In 2014, Kenyan government announced an upgrade to the dam, to increase capacity to 12MW, regulate flow to prevent flooding, and allow irrigation of approximately 25,000ha.
As of February 2016, the Orango irrigation intake and canals have been built downstream of the dam for the use of Okenge and Owiro farmers in
Migori County
Migori County is a county in the former Nyanza Province of southwestern Kenya. It is located in Southwestern Kenya and borders Homa Bay County (North), Kisii County (North E), Narok (South East), Tanzania (West and South) and Lake Victoria to th ...
, but construction of distributary channels have been delayed.
The
Gogo Falls archaeological site is located near the dam.
References
{{Authority control
Rivers of Kenya
Tributaries of Lake Victoria