Sedimentation in reservoirs Tana River Basin, Kenya. III - Analysis of Hydrographic surveys of three reservoirs in June/July 1983. Part B

Wooldridge, R. (1984) Sedimentation in reservoirs Tana River Basin, Kenya. III - Analysis of Hydrographic surveys of three reservoirs in June/July 1983. Part B. Technical Report. HR Wallingford.

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Abstract

The Tana River is the largest river in Kenya and the country's major surface water resource. The catchment area is 94 700km 2 representing about 16% of the land area of Kenya and containing some 20% of the national population. Including the headwaters of the Sagana, the river is 1012 km long and flows from Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Range to the Indian Ocean. The potential for development of the river for hydropower and irrigation is high and several reservoir schemes are in existence or planned for the near future.Since the first reservoir was impounded in 1974 (Kamburu), the problems of erosion from the catchments and the subsequent deposition of sediment in successive reservoirs have been noted by the relevant Kenyan authorities. The magnitude of the problem in Kenya and the need for the Overseas Development Unit (ODU) of Hydraulics Research Limited to collect reliable field data over a number of years led to an investigation being undertaken by ODU in collaboration with the Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority (TARDA), the Ministry of Water Development (MOID) and the Kenya Power and Lighting Company Limited (KP & L). Proposals for an investigation based on the upper Tana River were submitted following a visit to Kenya by a member of the ODU staff in December 1979; a revised summary of these proposals was agreed after a series of meetings on site during July 1980. The proposals included a requirement to collect cross-section data for the three reservoirs, Kindaruma, Kamburu and Masinga. The tabulated data is given in Part A of this report and Part B contains computer-plotted cross-sections.

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