The County government of Nakuru has embarked on a research to establish the extent of the fluoride in its various water sources to help improve on water quality and safety and address rising cases of bone defects and dental discolouration as a result of high levels of fluoride in water.
Water, Environment, Energy and Natural Resources County Executive Committee Member Dr Nelson Maara said through the research, the County will be able to map out fluoride water belt and be able to identify areas of high concentration of the mineral element fluoride in the county’s water sources mainly boreholes.
Dr. Maara cited a recent study conducted by the County’s water and environment department, which he said revealed that most of the boreholes had fluoride levels way above the 1.5 milligram per litre recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
He said the study established that fluoride levels ranged between 2.15 mg/Litre to as high as 6.5mg/Litre in the fifteen boreholes sampled during the analysis carried out at the water quality testing laboratory.
The CECM said the County was collaborating with the Aquaya Institute under the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) to map out the fluoride water belt, an initiative he said targets to establish the levels of the mineral element in various aquifers in Naivasha, Njoro, Nakuru Town West, Gilgil, Nakuru East and Bahati Sub-Counties, which have been singled out as having high concentrations of fluoride in Nakuru. “The situation is worse in Naivasha as almost all the boreholes have high concentration of fluoride”, added Maara.
The CECM said the initiative will further promote water quality testing in rural areas and boost the operations of rural water supply systems in outsourcing water quality testing from professional urban laboratories.
He added that the program will also enhance water management through better data collection, the use of advanced technologies, and public awareness campaigns to optimize water use in agriculture and industry and to encourage sustainable water consumption habits.
Dr Maara elaborated that the County was committed to minimizing the impact of fluoride in all the sub-counties, by ensuring that its Water Service Providers were supplying “blended water” to the residents which is within the recommended levels of fluoride by WHO.
He explained that the water emanating from Dondori and Malewa rivers, which are their main water sources, was being channeled into the main treatment works where it was being blended with water from underground sources for better quality.
Nakuru Water and Sanitation Services Company (Nawassco) sources its water from 25 boreholes; one in Kiondo, eight in Kabatini, three in Nairobi Road, five in Baharini, and eight in Olobanitaa within the county.
Dr Maara said the company serves a population of more than one million during the day and approximately 530,000 people during the night.
On the other hand, the Naivasha Water and Sanitation Company Limited (Naivawasco) gets its raw water from 13 boreholes, located in six production sites. It serves a population of about 170, 000 out of the 198,444 people, according to the 2019 census.
Scientists say millions of Kenyans are at risk of serious bone defects and dental discolouration as a result of high levels of fluoride in their drinking water.
The risk is made worse by the fact that as the rest of the world moves to treated and piped water systems, more than half of Kenyans (56 per cent) still rely on underground water, which the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) defines as, among others, water fetched from wells and boreholes.
Data from Kenya Society for Fluoride Research further shows that 9 million Kenyans suffer from fluorosis, affecting the teeth and skeleton, depending on the length of time one has been exposed to water with a high concentration of fluoride, and their geographical locations.
By Esther Mwangi
