Kenyan government officials along with the United States Geological Survey and Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) personnel came together for an eight-day water workshop conference to discuss ways to better understand ground water exploration through data analysis.

The workshop focused on rainfall and runoff and the use of geophysics instrumentation to assist in locating fresh drinkable water for the population.
Conference participants viewed Kenya, with a population of more than 33 million, in mostly arid and semi-arid lands as a significant challenge. "Water is scarce and in high demand for human consumption,' said Army Captain Kelly Lynch, CJTF-HOA Water Resource Manager.

The water workshop facilitates the exploration of a vitally important natural resource and offers a forum for information sharing among members of neighboring countries who wish to increase the accessibility of water, improve the quality of life in the region, and prevent future conflicts.

"Beyond the good science however, controversy and social conflict often center around competition for scare resources," said Army Captain Steven McKnight, CJTF-HOA Civil Affairs Liaison Officer for Kenya. "Because of exhaustive dialogue and the balance of useful inputs, we are pursuing this workshop as sound resource development and conflict prevent."

The mission of CJTF-HOA is to conduct unified action with local military forces and government representatives in the Horn of Africa to prevent conflict, promote regional stability, and protect coalition interests in order to prevail against extremist activities.