Water resources hazard management system: spatial extension for the assessment of sustainable water use practices in Kenya

✍ Scribed by W. O. Ochola; P. Kerkides; I. Argyrokastritis; V. Kollias

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2004
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 402 KB
• Volume: 53
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1531-0353
• DOI: 10.1002/ird.120

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Water resources attributes can be parameterized into water quality indicators that also describe the impact of agriculture on the biophysical and socio‐economic processes in the environment. This article is a sequel to a previous paper published by the authors that presented a water resources hazard assessment decision support system (DSS). The geographical information system (GIS) functionality of the original DSS has been advanced for mapping, spatial and geostatistical analysis of water resources hazards, water use/management practice classification and best water management practice identification. The interactive mapping potential enables the users to broaden water resource management and investigate spatial and temporal trends in water hazard status. The output includes a host of thematic maps and water use matrices. The improvement of the DSS by integration of GIS has enhanced its ability to support land and water use decision‐making at farm and catchment levels by not only setting best water use guidelines but also suggesting where they are most appropriate. The improved version of the DSS has been recalibrated, tested and applied to land and water use data from the Kusa area in Kenya. The system assists land and water use planning through the evaluation of sustainability of water resources, identifying environmental issues concerning future water use sites and defining the conditions for use of present water resources. It can be used to evaluate hazards and environmental threats to other agricultural land resources. The current paper presents a documentation of the water hazard management system and a description of its application to be a requisite of water hazards in the study area. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.