Effects of Land Use on Spring and Streamflow Quality in River Malaget Sub-Catchment, Kericho County, Kenya

Mercy Kirui^1, , Kennedy Obiero¹ and Joy Obando¹

¹Department of Geography, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya

Cite this paper:
Mercy Kirui, Kennedy Obiero and Joy Obando. Effects of Land Use on Spring and Streamflow Quality in River Malaget Sub-Catchment, Kericho County, Kenya. American Journal of Water Resources. 2025; 13(4):148-157. doi: 10.12691/ajwr-13-4-4

Abstract

Various studies have found that effects of land use on water quality are attributable to about 80 % of diseases in the developing world. The study’s main objective was to evaluate the effects of land use on spring and streamflow quality in River Malaget sub-catchment. Thirty-three sampling points were selected by stratified sampling, i.e., ten springs and one river point per agro-ecological zones, namely: Tea-Dairy-Forest Zone, Wheat-Maize-Barley Zone and Marginal Coffee Zone. Water samples from each zone were tested on site for temperature, pH, turbidity, electrical conductivity, DO, and total dissolved solids. BOD, E.coli, fluorides, total hardness, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia and phosphates were tested in the laboratory. Pillai’s trace in MANOVA, revealed a significant variability in the distribution of water quality parameters in relation to land use as the means of the three agro-ecological zones were significantly different, V =1.535, F (20, 44) =7.262, p <.05. Univariate ANOVAs on each of the variables revealed significant effect on temperature, F (2, 30) = 4.833, p > .05; electrical conductivity, F (2, 30) = 14.730, p > .05; turbidity, F (2, 30) = 3.600, p > .05; and nitrates, F (2, 30) = 5.879, p > .05. In conclusion, indeed, land use has had an impact on streamflow and spring water quality in the study area. It is recommended that water is treated before drinking and all springs are protected fully against contamination.

Keywords:
water quality parameters ArcGIS MANOVA agro-ecological zones River Malaget Sub-catchment springs

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