Possibility of Ground Water Contamination and Possible Effects of Olkaria Geothermal Developments to Lake Naivasha

Abstract

Geothermal power generation involves drilling to deeper depths to tap natural steam that is used to generate geothermal power, the steam is accompanied by geothermal effluents which are considered to be a significant aspect and hence can pollute the environment majorly surface and ground water if by any chance they interact. The methods used in this paper will involve desktop studies that will give an insight of the geological structures of the area under study in addition to secondary data that will obtained from KenGen data base. The data will be analyzed using ternary plots in addition to studying geological structures and the up down flow and up flow of water into the geothermal reservoir. This paper seeks to investigate the possibilty of contamination of ground water by shallow re-injection wells that have been embrassed to solve the problem of effluent discharge into the enviroment and give a detailed study of the connectivity between the Olkaria Geothermal reservoir and Lake Naivasha underground drainage. This being one of the major concerns raised both locally and internationally by friends of the environment, environmental activists and environmental conservation groups.