Urbanization and Groundwater Pollution in Mombasa-Kenya: Do we have to Transfer the Problem due to Construction of the Dongo-Kundu By-Pass

Abstract

We show how a bridge and good road network opened up the Mombasa County to rapid urbanization and growth of human settlements beyond the ability of Local Government to provide the infrastructure for human waste management, leading to pollution of groundwater aquifers and effects in public health. We caution that the same would happen in the Kwale County upon construction of the Dongo-Kundu By-Pass linking it to Mombasa. Up to 1979, the population distribution in the Mombasa County was restricted by difficulties of access, particularly at its potential district of Kisauni, which though offering plenty of land for housing development, was not overpopulated due to difficult to access. However, upon construction of the Nyali Bridge the early 1980s, the population dynamics shifted, making Kisauni the most populated area. It remains so and this population uses on-site sanitation systems for human waste management. This has had impact on groundwater aquifers through microbial pollution, rendering otherwise chemically suitable water unsuitable on this account without treatment. Construction of the Dongo-Kundu By-Pass to link Mombasa with the south coast will open the Kwale County to rapid urbanization, replicating the water pollution problem experienced in the Mombasa County, particularly in the locations found along its coastal belt. In this study technical measures, zoning and declaration of areas for conservation of groundwater aquifers have been proposed to forestall the problem in the newly to urbanize area.

Key words: Ease of access, on-site sanitation, groundwater pollution, water borne diseases, effects on public health