WATER FLUORIDE IN THE MOLO DIVISION OF NAKURU DISTRICT, KENYA

Water samples were collected from 40 households in four sublocations of the Molo division of the Rift Valley in Nakuru District of Kenya. The mean fluoride concentration was 0.28 ± 0.03 ppm. Of the samples collected, 62.5% were from streams/springs, 15.0% from tap water, 10.0% from borehole water, 10.0% from dam water, and 2.5% from rain water. Turi sublocation had 75% of the total number of boreholes in this study, and had the highest mean fluoride concentration (0.44 ± 0.06 ppm), whereas Kamara had the lowest mean fluoride concentration (0.19 ± 0.08 ppm). Kerisoi and Sachagwan sublocation had mean fluoride concentrations of 0.21 ± 0.07 ppm and 0.32 ± 0.04 ppm, respectively. Borehole water had more fluoride (0.66 ppm) than any other water source, while rain water had the least amount of fluoride (0.07 ppm). The highest fluoride encountered in this study was 2.0 ppm while the lowest was 0.06 ppm.