• Regulations state that wastewater should be treated before it is discharged into a public sewer line.
• Many industries have been discharging untreated effluent into a public sewer or discharging it into the environment without a licence.
Image: MANUEL ODENY
An environmental agency has warned that all industries discharging untreated effluents into Lake Victoria, threatening the lives of millions, will be shut.
The National Environment Management Authority on Monday said time was running out for industries polluting the lake.
“We have inspectors that we dispatched for follow-up monitoring last week. If they are not complying, then we will be closing down the non-compliant facilities,” Nema director general Mamo Mamo warned.
Mamo, who spoke in his office, said the move is aimed at reversing the stature of Africa’s largest lake and the world’s second-largest freshwater lake by surface area.
He said 13 facilities in the sugar belt stand accused. He, however, did not mention the companies.
In 2019, the Environment ministry had warned factories and individuals against discharging effluent into water bodies.
CS Keriako Tobiko said culprits will be prosecuted and the industries closed.
He instructed Nema to punish those culpable.
Tobiko warned he will not tolerate excuses that some projects are contributing to economic growth and providing livelihoods at the expense of the environment.
“Nothing can justify the destruction of lives and health,” Tobiko said in Kisumu.
“We’ll shut down the industries discharging effluent into the rivers and destroying people’s lives. This must stop,” he added.
Tobiko had urged Nema to map out all the polluting sources, serve those not served with notices and then undertake aggressive arrest, prosecution and legal action.
Mamo on Monday said a multi-agency team led by the Environment PS last year looked at all the sugar industries within that belt.
“We had given them orders to ensure they put functioning effluent treatment plants in place,” Mamo said.
Water Quality Regulations 2006 prohibits any person from discharging any effluent from sewer treatment works, the industry or other sources into the environment without a valid effluent discharge licence issued by Nema.
The regulations state that waste water should be treated before it is discharged into a public sewer line.
Many industries in the country, however, have been violating these provisions by either discharging untreated effluent into a public sewer or discharging it into the environment without a licence.
This has been a major source of pollution of major water bodies.
According to the regulations, any person who contravenes or commits an offence shall be liable to a fine not exceeding Sh500,000.
Nema has been waging an aggressive war against such industries.
He said there are a lot of chemicals such as pesticides that are being used upstream and other agricultural chemicals draining into the lake.
“We will also sensitise residents on the use of chemicals in the catchment of Lake Victoria. The county government will be brought on board,” he said.
River Nile originates from Lake Victoria basin and so anything happening on the lake affects the other Nile member states.
Already, countries within the Nile Basin have committed to sharing crucial data.
The data seeks to strengthen the basin monitoring function.
The Nile Basin Initiative is a regional intergovernmental partnership of 10 countries.
They are Kenya, Burundi, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Formed in 1999, NBI seeks to promote cooperative management and development of the shared Nile Basin water resources for win-win benefits, promote regional peace and security.
The NBI operates from the Nile Secretariat in Entebbe (Uganda), the Eastern Nile Technical Regional office in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), and the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Programme Coordination Unit in Kigali (Rwanda).
Edited by A.N