**13. Conclusion**

The paper concludes that the Athi River Catchment Area (ACA) is endowed with enormous water resources but which is mal-distributed in both space and time. The basin is home to the two major urban centres in Kenya; Nairobi and Mombasa which have seen an increasing demand on water resources as a result of increasing rural–urban migration of the population in search of employment opportunities. The water resources in the basin are faced with increasing water pollution and quality degradation from the various human activities, which affects the various uses of the water. The water resources are being used for irrigation purposes in the lower reaches of the river and industrial and commercial purposes in the upper reaches. These activities generate pollutants that pollute the water and hence reducing its usefulness and in turn affecting the people's livelihoods. The paper notes that efforts by both the national and county government are likely to increase the water supply by investing in water storage structures to augment the water resources in the basin. More irrigation land is also earmarked for expansion implying more opportunities for the residents and enhancing their livelihoods through growing of more value chain crops under irrigation systems.

The paper recommends more investments on water resources structures for rain water harvesting, reducing and monitoring of waste water discharges onto the present water sources. The county governments within the basin should be encouraged to invest in small scale water supply systems such as earth dams and shallow wells. More emphasis of environmental education on the conservation of water resources through new technologies for irrigation projects as well as manufacturing industries to avoid discharging of industrial effluents into the river system. Continuous water quality should be encouraged to ensure the water resources in the basin are not polluted and when harvested are not health hazards. Better land use systems in the headwater areas should be encouraged to avoid generation of sediments by erosion process. This in the overall will help in the sustainability of the water resources in the basin and enhance increased opportunities for the residents and improved livelihoods.

*Water Quality - Factors and Impacts*
