Nairobi River - Tributaries

Tributaries

Nairobi River has several tributaries, including (in descending order from north to south):

• Ruiru River
• Kamiti River (Gathara-ini)
• Rui Ruaka
• Karura River
• Gitathuru River (aka Getathuru)
• Mathare River
• Nairobi River (the main channel)
• Kirichwa
• Motoine-Ngong River

Motoine River flows to the Nairobi Dam, an artificial lake meant to provide drinkable water for residents of Nairobi.

Further onwards the stream continues as Ngong River.

Gathara-ini Stream originates in marshes in the lower reaches of Aberdare mountains and flows through human settled areas. The stream experiences different impacts originating from anthropogenic sources along the channels and in the catchment. In the upper sections of Kiambaa and Kanunga areas, the stream passes through swampy and marshy areas, with subsistence agriculture and human settlement being the main types of land use. In midsections of Kiambu, extensive coffee estates and intensive mixed farming are the major forms of land use. In the lower sections of Githurai and Zimmerman, the stream is characterized by coffee farming, intensive mixed farming and some industries such as Kamiti Tannery Factory. The lower stream waters are brackish and characterised by foul smell. Riverine subsistence agriculture of arrowroots and kales were common throughout the studied area. Efforts to conserve and preserve this river are yet to initiated.

Nairobi's rivers suffer from contaminations by agriculture, slums and industrial areas. During rainy seasons the discharge tends to multiply, causing floods on low-lying riverbanks.

There is a second river called Nairobi in Kenya. It starts on Mount Kenya and is a tributary of the Sagana and then the Tana, the longest river in Kenya.