The purge on polluters follows a directive given to the authority by Environment Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko July 20.
The authority has already flagged 148 polluters of Nairobi River who it shall charge in court.
Nema has stumbled on concealed pipes that are draining waste in Nairobi River even as the authority warned polluters of prosecution.
The National Environment Management Authority acting director-general Mamo Mamo on Sunday said his team had come across the pipes during cleaning of the river.
“There will be no compromise at all on those polluting the river. We want to have it clean in the next 90 days,” Mamo told the Star on phone.
The authority has already flagged 148 polluters of Nairobi River who it shall charge in court. Mamo said 100 youth have been deployed to clean the river.
"We will arrest and prosecute all the polluters," he said.
The war on polluters follows a directive given to the authority by Environment Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko on July 20.
"We are starting a 90-day crackdown today; Nema will be spearheading the crackdown from here (Michuki Memorial Park ) all the way up to the source of the river at Ondiri swamp. We will also be dealing with Nairobi River tributaries,” Tobiko said during a clean up at the section of the rivers that passes through Michuki Memorial Park.
The Nairobi River traverses the memorial park named after John Michuki, the no-nonsense Kibaki administration Environment minister.
The river was a few decades ago sparkling clean and populated with fish, water beetles, dragon flies and other fresh water creatures.
Today, it is technically dead. It no longer supports life, except for insects that feed on dirt.
Many attempts had been made to clean it before Michuki took the bull by the horns and had it cleaned.
His successors at the ministry were not as enthusiastic to ensure the river's cleanliness.
Tobiko however wants the river to regain its lost glory in 90 days.
“The crackdown is going to be sustained, aggressive and merciless,” Tobiko said as he outlined an action plan to be operationalised in 90 days.
Mamo said the authority has now directed its guns on those discharging untreated water, toxic waste and industrial waste into the river.
Culprit residential establishments will not be spared.
To walk the talk, officials from the authority on Friday arrested a landlord for directing waste from his rental houses to the Nairobi River.
The landlord is alleged to have been discharging waste into the Kirichwa Kubwa River in Dagoretti.
Mamo said the authority has come across a broken trunk line and reported to Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company for it to be fixed.
"There are also cases of illegal connection of sewer lines," Mamo said.
Mamo said those nabbed during the sting operations will be taken to court.
"It is with the discretion of a magistrate to apply the polluter pays principle," Mamo said.
The principle is the commonly accepted practice that those who produce pollution should bear the costs of managing it to prevent damage to human health or the environment.
A factory that produces potentially poisonous chemicals in some of its activities is held responsible by authorities for safe disposal.
The move is part of broader principles aimed at addressing sustainable development.
Mamo said all factories without effluent treatment plants will also face the music.
"Those without effluent treatment plants will be closed," Mamo said.
He said the authority is armed with a detailed geo-referencing map showing property owners and action taken in previous crackdowns.
"We know the type of waste each facility is discharging into the river," Mamo said.
Ten police officers have been attached to the team.
Tobiko said the government is determined to clean the river.
Already, the Michuki Memorial Park section of the river is clean.
“The river is becoming clean. You can see the level of cleanliness on the stretch between the National Museums of Kenya bridge and the Globe Roundabout. The water is as clean as tap water,” the CS said.
But the job at hand will be gargantuan, especially as the river snakes through the informal settlements where foetuses and bodies of adults are often found floating.
Last month, two bodies of infants were retrieved from the river in Korogocho by members of Komb Green Solutions.
This brought to 21 the number of bodies retrieved from the river in the informal settlement since the launch of the Nairobi River Restoration Project last year.
The tally stands at 16 infants and five adults.
Komb Green Solutions is made up of 70 youths based in Korogocho.
It was founded two years ago with the authority of Governor Mike Sonko to clean their section of Nairobi River.
Tobiko said the sewer infrastructure along the river course is in a shambles.
However, his ministry in collaboration with the Nairobi Metropolitan Services, the Ministries of Water and Housing are fixing trunk and sewer lines in the informal settlements under a World Bank-funded programme.