The Lotikipi Basin Aquifer is a large aquifer in the northwest region of
Kenya
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containing 200 billion cubic meters of saline water and covers an area of 4,164 km
2.
The aquifer, discovered in September 2013, is nine times the size of any other aquifer in Kenya and has the potential to supply the population with enough fresh water to last 70 years or indefinitely if properly managed.
Discovery
The aquifer was discovered by Radar Technologies, in conjunction with the Kenyan government and
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
, using satellite, radar, and geological maps along with seismic techniques typically used to locate oil reserves.
Development
The aquifer is located 300 meters below the surface and extends near the borders of
South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...
,
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, and
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...
, an area sparsely populated and prone to conflict due to the scarcity of resources in the area.
In such a remote area, tapping an aquifer this deep underground and maintaining the boreholes poses a technological challenge to the Kenyan government.
Testing
In February 2015, the Kenyan government announced that the first tests of the aquifer had found the water too salty for human consumption.
[="Reuters">] It would need to be desalinated using reverse osmosis to be fit. New test phases were announced in June 2016 with a proposed budget of KShs. 5 billion.
References
External links
* Radar Technologies International
Advanced Survey of Groundwater Resources of Northern and Central Turkana County, Kenya(
PDF), 30 August 2013.
{{Aquifers
Geography of Rift Valley Province
Water supply and sanitation in Kenya
Aquifers of Africa
Aquifers