By Lillian Aluanga

It was once a symbol of development for Gichagi village in Mbeere District.

But for some like Luka Otieno, the pride of living just two kilometres away from one of the country’s hydro-power plants has over the years dissipated into disillusionment, fear and fatigue.

The disenchantment has been fuelled by dwindling job opportunities the Kiambere Dam once promised. There is also fear of attacks from hippos and crocodiles lurking in the waters, and fatigue in fighting malaria and other water borne diseases.

"Dams have been a blessing to us in many ways, but they have also been a source of misery," says Mutuobare, Location Chief Julius Njeru.

The chief has expressed concerns over increased attacks on residents by crocodiles and hippos.

In recent weeks, dams have featured widely in media reports following allegations of misappropriation of Sh10 billion at the National Water Conservation and Pipeline Corporation. There are fears that the financial impropriety could jeopardise plans to develop the Chemususu, Badasa, Kiserian, Umaa and Maruba dams. The projects had been earmarked for Koibatek, Marsabit, Kajiado, Kitui and Machakos districts.

So far, the allegations have led to the dissolvement of the Corporation’s board, with Water minister Charity Ngilu sending senior officials on compulsory leave pending investigations.

But even as controversy swirls around the Board’s financial misdeeds, questions on the objectives of building dams, their effectiveness and impact on environment are arising.

"Dams are an ineffective way of storing water and can be the biggest way of losing it. We have been building dams haphazardly for years, without understanding their ecological impact," says University of Nairobi lecturer Eric Odada.

The geology lecturer and expert in the study of lakes and other water bodies, says besides fanning malaria and other water borne diseases, dams create new environmental conditions, which require populations to adapt to certain types of agriculture.

Otieno agrees. "I moved here with my family before completion of the Kiambere Dam when malaria was barely an issue. Since its completion there have been more cases of the disease," he says.

But debate on the efficacy of dams and their environmental impact isn’t restricted to Kenya.

In South East Asia, environmentalists are opposed to plans by Cambodia, Thailand and Laos to build at least 11 dams on the Mekong River.

The argument?

Damming the world’s 10th longest river will destroy its fisheries and threaten food security. In Kenya, stocks of the barbus fish have dwindled with the damming of Tana River.

Around the world, large dams are estimated to have displaced between 40 and 80 million people, besides concerns that if built in seismic active zones, they could cause earthquakes. Closer home, environmentalists are raising the red flag over Ethiopia’s construction of the Gibe dam on River Omo, which they say will mark the beginning of the end of Lake Turkana.

"Turkana is gradually changing from being a fresh water lake to a saline one because water has been diverted from the Omo River. The Gibe plan will accelerate drying up of the lake," says Prof Odada.

Although it had announced its intention to scale up lending for dam projects "to maximise the strategic value of hydropower", latest WorldBank figures show otherwise. The Bank’s lending for such projects has hit its lowest level in 10 years at $177million, prompting environmentalists to speculate that it could be shying away from such projects.

Although Africa’s rivers are by global standards, considered ‘under- dammed’, environmentalists are cautioning governments from going that way to avoid environmental destruction.

There are, however, those who view things differently.

"Dams are multipurpose products that can be useful," says climate expert Richard Odingo. The University of Nairobi lecturer cites Thailand, which he says, has big dams that have been useful for irrigation and fisheries.

"The idea of super dams has always been opposed by environmentalists because apart from destroying wetlands, the projects displace thousand of people," he says.

An example is the Three Gorges dam on China’s Yangtze River, which saw over one million people displaced in building the world’s largest electricity generating plant.

"Kenya’s dam story is different. Our problem is that we think small. The Seven Forks Hydro power project has been there for decades but combined, the dams cannot even produce 1,000 Megawatts of power," says Prof Odingo.

National Water and Pipeline Corporation’s chief chemist William Ndemwa says extensive feasibility studies are conducted before construction of dams and that necessary measures are put in place to mitigate negative effects. He classifies the dams as small and large, with those for generating hydropower falling in the second category. Small dams include those for domestic use and irrigation such as sand and earthen dams.

"Most of the large dams are concentrated along River Tana, but the smaller ones across the country are obviously the majority," he says. Building a small dam would cost between Sh3 million to Sh4 million; large ones require billions of shillings.

While appreciating the environmentalists concerns, Ndemwa, however, says building dams is essential for boosting water supply.

"Our ground water reserves are limited. What we should do is consider the negative impacts of dams and mitigate them," says the engineer.