**4.1 Water resources and water demands**

A critical analysis of water resources in the basin indicates that water resources are affected by the different water use demands and their allocations. This indicates a close relationship between the available water resources against various water use activities, and how the water resources are allocated. This minimizes the possibility of water depletion and scarcity in the basin to enable a sustainable use of the water resources. Water resources in the Athi Catchment Area (ACA are mainly used for agricultural production (irrigation), domestic water supply, industrial uses and municipal uses in the several urban and municipal towns in the basin. The JICA [1] report summarized the available water resources as estimated in basin for year 2010 and projected for year 2030 as presented in **Table 2**.

The annual water demands estimated for the year 2010 and projected for 2030 in the basin are further summarized in **Table 3**. The projection given for 2030 followed the national development targets of Kenya Vision 2030 and socioeconomic framework [1], but without considering the available water resources.

The present study used ratios of available water resources and water demands and water deficits to show increasing water deficit trends due to increasing water demands in the basin. These are shown in **Tables 3** and **4** respectively. This will have far reaching implications on peoples' livelihoods as trends in decreasing water resources are likely to affect human activities such as irrigation activities and other water related production activities.

The present study notes that the water demands of 1,145 MCM/year in 2010 as presented in the JICA [1] report are equivalent to 76% of the available water resources (water stress ratio) as indicated in **Table 4**. This ratio far exceeds the severe water stress ratio of 40% indicating that the Athi catchment area is already
