Committee to study swelling lakes

The government has formed a technical committee to study the rising levels of water in various lakes in the Rift Valley.

The committee comprising various agencies will establish the number of affected persons, possibilities of compensation and after-effects of the anomaly.

Experts from the National Environment Management Authority, Water Resource Authority and geologists will be part of the committee.

In the last couple of months, Lakes Naivasha, Elementaita, Bogoria, Baringo and Turkana have risen sharply displacing hundreds of families.

Experts are divided on the cause of the rise, with some pointing to high silt while others attributing the phenomena to heavy rains.

According to Environment PS Chris Kiptoo, the technical committee will embark on the studies next week and possibly release a report within two months.