Dam Project on Edge of Kenya's Mau Forest May Threaten Water Supplies
A dam being built on the edge of Kenya’s largest water catchment is drawing criticism from experts who fear it could threaten water supplies in the country as much as supplement them.
The Itare Dam will be the largest water supply project in the southern Rift Valley, and is intended to shore up water for the city of Nakuru and nearby villages as drought hits Kenya more frequently.
The dam, and the 700-acre (280-hectare) reservoir that will be formed behind it, will be in Kuresoi, at the northern edge of the Mau Forest Complex, Kenya’s largest water catchment.
Construction of the 57m-high (187 feet) dam began in June 2016.
At a cost of Sh38 billion (about $370 million), it is one of the flagship water supply projects under Vision 2030, the Kenyan government’s national long-term development policy.
BBC World Service