Linking citizen science with contamination levels of small water bodies for generation of essential information for conservation and investment

Abstract

Socio-ecological characteristics of small water bodies (SWBs) are useful in determining the required level of rehabilitation and rebranding for possible blue economic investments. The current study assessed the socio-ecological aspects of 74 SWBs in central and western counties in Kenya to determine their contamination status. The SWBs were selected to account for sub-county representation, coverage and permanence of the water source. Respondents assessed in the selected SWBs catchments were identified from riparian communities and policymakers. Physicochemical parameters were assessed using standard methods. Regionally, the SWBs showed significant variations (p < .05) in the main occupation, ownership, restricted access and perceived alternating extreme precipitation ranges. Significant differences in the selected citizen science attributes and SWBs’ dimensions of both depth and size, were linked to higher total and faecal coliforms in western as compared to central Kenya and higher water transparency in the latter. Thus, localized human activities that had significant variations between the two regions are highly likely to have affected the differences in the contamination levels. The socio-ecological indexing herein can be of general use for determining the contamination status of SWBs as an integrative management tool for possible investment.