| Malewa River | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mouth | |
• coordinates | 0°43′29″S 36°21′12″E / 0.724778°S 36.353288°E |
| Basin size | 1,730 square kilometres (670 sq mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Turasha |
| • right | Wanjohi |
The Malewa River rises in the western slopes of the Aberdare Range in Kenya and flows south and west into Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley. Lake Naivasha is an important source of water in a semi-arid environment, and supports export-oriented horticulture and floriculture businesses as well as tourism. Malewa River water quality has deteriorated because of more human activities in the upper catchment. Long-term effects of this on the percentage of rainfall getting into Lake Naivasha are not clear. Possibly in low-rainfall years the percentage will drop because of water abstraction, while in high-rainfall years the percentage will go up because of cultivated soils having a lower water-holding capacity and the introduction of more 100% runoff surfaces like tarmac roads and iron sheets, etc.