Murang'a leaders back Sh11m waste treatment project, say water is safe

A controversial Sh11 million waste treatment project in Murang’a county will go ahead after leaders agreed to support it.

The main facility being set up in the Saba Saba area will treat waste from pit latrines in Murang’a South and minimise waterborne diseases. Smaller facilities will treat waste from various communities.

It is being funded by the World Bank through the Water Trust Fund.

The project had faced opposition from Maragua MP Mary Waithera who questioned the sanitation standards of the treated water that will be released into the Saba Saba River. 

She said the discharge poses health risks and claimed the volume of water in the river is too small to handle the volume of treated water from the plant.

Waithera also said the facility is being put up on private land where a water treatment plant was located.

She said the land belongs to Godfrey Mburu, who has died. He had lent it to the government to put up a water treatment plant in exchange for free water supply.

Because of fear among Kenyans, we are forced to channel the water into rivers. The treated water is cleaner than the water in rivers.

His family objects to the sewerage plant and wants the project stopped.

“In April 1994, the national government put restrictions on 0.30 hectares (0.74 acres) of Mburu’s land, pending more negotiations with him, which never occurred,” she said during leaders' consultation in Kenol on Saturday.

Director Peter Kihungi of the Athi Water Works Development Agency said such facilities are also used in developed counties where the treated water is supplied to surrounding homes.

“But because of fear among Kenyans, we are forced to channel the water into rivers. The treated water is cleaner than the water in rivers,” he said.

Kihungi said the projects will help move rural areas away from using pit latrines to using septic tanks that can be emptied and the waste treated.

In Saba Saba town, more than 200 pit latrines have been connected to septic tanks and more toilets constructed to reduce the number of people using one toilet from about 100 to only 20.

Too many pit latrines are being constructed as more boreholes are being sunk, contaminating ground water.

In Makueni, Kihungi said, more than 10  similar projects are being implemented.

He said leaders had agreed to come up with a consensus plan to assure residents the project will not pose any health risks.

Murang’a South Water and Sanitation Company (Muswasco) managing director Mary Nyaga said consultations were organised as soon as issues emerged to explain how such facilities work and their benefits.

“Many areas have been facing challenges of waste disposal from pit latrines. Treatment will reduce illnesses," she said.

Many people are moving from urban to rural areas, increasing population and waste management problems, Nyaga said.

More than 30 similar facilities are being or have been put up countrywide and 13 of them are operational, she said.

Kimorori MCA Amos Murigi said the project will greatly improve residents' lives.

He urged people not to politicise the project and said controversy can put off financiers such as the World Bank and hurt residents.

The government is also planning to put up a Sh1.2 billion sewerage project in Kenol town.

Makuyu MCA Stanley Mburu said the benefits outweigh any issues in implementation.

“The issues raised by our MP are pertinent but should not hinder completion of the project,” he said.

Towns such as Kenol, Makuyu and Saba Saba are growing and require efficient waste management systems, he said.

(Edited by V. Graham)