Modelling sand storage dams systems in seasonal rivers in arid regions. Application to Kitui district (Kenya)
Different kinds of groundwater dams have been found to be an effective way to supply water in many developing countries during the dry seasons or even during dry years. These structures store water in subsurface reservoirs for livestock, domestic use and minor irrigation. The sub-surface reservoirs are recharged through flash floods originated from rainfall events. In the Kitui district in Kenya hundreds of sand storage dams have been built. The Kitui case has been successful, and the possibility to upscale this experience to other regions has been considered.
In this research, based on the sand storage dams constructed in the Kitui district, several hydrological models were created in Modflow to study the hydrology of these structures. The purpose was to gain insight on groundwater dynamics around sand storage dams in the long term and large scale.
The influence of some of the parameters involved in the hydrologic processes around the dams in the performance of each individual dam was studied. This influence could determine the success or failure of the project.
In the Kitui region, hundreds of sand storage dams were built in the Kiindu river and its tributaries. The conditions under which a system of multiple dams in the same riverbed behaved as multiple individual dams or as a connected network with global effects were analyzed.
Committee
Dr. Maurits Ertsen (TU Delft)
Pr. Jan Willem Foppen (UNESCO-IHE)
Pr.dr.ir. Nick van der Giesen