Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Seasonal Variations in Surface Water Quality in River Njoro and Lake Nakuru, Kenya

Petra K. Chui, Bernard K. Kirui, Meshack A. Obonyo

Asian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Research · pp. 104–116 · Published 1 Nov 2023

10.9734/ajfar/2023/v25i4688

Abstract

Water pollution from rivers and lakes has resulted in serious environmental issues on a global scale. The public's growing concern over the decline in river and lake water quality makes it more important than ever to assess the water quality of these bodies of water over a prolonged period of time. During the rainy and dry seasons of 2022, 120 water samples were collected from 5 monitoring stations located within River Njoro and Lake Nakuru. The samples underwent physicochemical analysis of selected water parameters, which included salinity, temperature, pH, turbidity, total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), electric conductivity (EC), and total dissolved solids (TDS). The results were compared using the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) of Kenya's guidelines and the results showed that the water quality of the Njoro river and Lake Nakuru fluctuated with the seasons, particularly in the lower water column of river Njoro. The quality parameters had the following values; EC values range between 73.33 ± 0.55 μs/cm - 533.33 ± 0.64 - μs/cm, respectively for both seasons; Salinity values range from 0.085 ± 0.02 ppt - 2.59 ± 0.03 ppt; pH values were between 8.8 – 9.3; Temperature was 23.69 ± 0.07 °C – 14.22± 0.07°C; Turbidity varied significantly – 13.95 ± 0.27 NTU - 36.03 ± 0.35 NTU;  TDS between 46.67 ± 0.11 ppm- 243.33 ± 0.04 ppm; TN ranges between 5.97 ± 3.24 mg/L - 8.57 ± 3.18 mg/L and TP 7.49 ± 1.7-9.41 ± 1.84 mg/L in the dry and rainy seasons, for River Njoro and Lake Nakuru respectively. This study showed that the degree to which human activity affects water quality varies with the season. Therefore, most of these factors should be considered while controlling rivers downstream in order to ensure the health of aquatic life, also it is essential to increase lake water quality monitoring and regulate human activity. Additionally, the results revealed that water pollution resulted primarily from domestic wastewater, agricultural runoff and industrial effluents.

Kenya lake physicochemical parameters river water quality environmental pollution

References (23)

  1. 1 Seasonal variation and risk assessment of microplastics in surface water of the Manas River Basin, China [DOI]
  2. 2 Assessment of physicochemical properties of water and their seasonal variation in an urban river in Bangladesh [DOI]
  3. 3 Phosphorus accumulates faster than nitrogen globally in freshwater ecosystems under anthropogenic impacts [DOI]
  4. 4 Do microplastic loads reflect the population demographics along the southern African coastline? [DOI]
  5. 5 Spatial and seasonal variation of microplastics and possible sources in the estuarine system from central west coast of India [DOI]
  6. 6 Water quality assessment, multivariate analysis and human health risks of heavy metals in eight major lakes in Kenya [DOI]
  7. 7 Occurrence and Spatial Distribution of Microplastics in the Surface Waters of Lake Naivasha, Kenya [DOI]
  8. 8 Distribution and Seasonal Variation of Microplastics in Tallo River, Makassar, Eastern Indonesia [DOI]
  9. 9 Evaluation and variation trends analysis of water quality in response to water regime changes in a typical river-connected lake (Dongting Lake), China [DOI]
  10. 10 Water Scarcity in Kenya: Current Status, Challenges and Future Solutions [DOI]
  11. 11 STUDIES ON PHYSICOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS TO ASSESS THE WATER QUALITY OF RIVER GANGA FOR DRINKING PURPOSE IN HARIDWAR DISTRICT
  12. 12 Effects of anthropogenic activities on microplastics in deposit-feeders (Diptera: Chironomidae) in an urban river of Taiwan [DOI]
  13. 13 A multivariate analysis of water quality in Lake Naivasha, Kenya [DOI]
  14. 14 The Temporal Variability of Rainfall and Streamflow into Lake Nakuru, Kenya, Assessed Using SWAT and Hydrometeorological Indices [DOI]
  15. 15 Effects of Land Use on the Riparian Vegetation along the Njoro and Kamweti Rivers, Kenya [DOI]
  16. 16 Sedimentation Effect on the Storage Capacity in Lake Nakuru, Kenya
  17. 17 Impact of Sedimentation on Water Seepage Capacity in Lake Nakuru, Kenya [DOI]
  18. 18 244 Publications 1,339 Citations See Profile
  19. 19 Physico-chemical quality of drinking water in the Njoro sub-county in Kenya [DOI]
  20. 20 Impact of Human Settlement on Land Use/Land Cover Changes in the Middle River Njoro Sub Watershed in Kenya [DOI]
  21. 21 150 Publications 3,503 Citations See Profile
  22. 22 Land Use/Land Cover Changes in a Disturbed River Watershed Kenya [DOI]
  23. 23 10.26417/ejef.v3i2 [DOI]

Cited by 3

Anthropogenic impacts on water quality in southern Brazil: a multidimensional analysis of tributaries and the Chavantes reservoir

L. D. Queiroz, Emanuely Cristina de Araúijo Batista, Eliezer de Oliveira da Conceição · Revista Brasileira de Ciências Ambientais · 2026

Spatiotemporal Variations in Water Quality under Land Use/Land Cover in the Khabur River

Gharibay Haji, Nabaz I. Mohammed, J. Salim · passer of basic and applied sciences · 2026

Gridless water configurations: integrating informal water activities and arrangements for equitable urban water development in India and Kenya

Raja Asvanon, Anisha Nazareth, Karina Barquet · Urban Water Journal · 2025

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

4

Page views

0

PDF downloads

9

Outbound clicks

3

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.