Case Study: Kenya's Sand Dams
Geography: AQA GCSE, topic 6.3.8
Sand Dams in Machakos District, Kenya
Kenya is a low-income country. It has designed special dams to capture water which would otherwise be lost as surface runoff. Kenya's sand dams are cost-effective and have been built in the Machakos, Makueni, and Kitui districts.
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How do sand dams work?
- Sand dams store water in the rainy season under a layer of sand. Water gets stuck amongst the sand particles, creating a layer of trapped water.
- In the summer, when other water sources dry up, the water is still stored under the sand.
- Local people can access the water through wells or taps, giving them drinking water in the hottest and driest part of the year.
Advantages of sand dams
- Sand dams are cheap, don't need any special materials, and give access to water in the driest months of the year.
Test yourself on Case Study: Kenya's Sand Dams
How do local people in Kenya extract the trapped water from behind sand dams?
What are the advantages of the sand dams used in Machakos District, Kenya?
In what Kenyan district have local people started building sand dams to increase the sustainability of their water supply?