NEED FOR RIVER CLEAN UPS

One of the many Nairobi basin rivers flows next to my office building. On rainy days you can hear the wild gush of water as it flows eastwards to the main river. It is a sight to behold, you would presume so, it being a natural source of water so close to human activity. What really catches your attention is the colour of the water, a dark green murky appearance and a foul chemical stench on some days.

Given my knowledge of the area, I would trace the cause of the dirty water to major hospitals in the area. Further downstream I could imagine that the river gets worse. It flows towards Nairobi’s Industrialization hub, with a number of factories releasing their chemical wastes into the river system.

Of course the county government often claims that they have put up measures to monitor the industries along the river system but truth to be told is nothing much is happening. Case in point a few years back a fire razed down an informal settlement that was situated along the Nairobi River. Over 120 people died that day. The cause you would ask was an exploding oil leak that ran into the sewage ditch nearby and had people scrambling with jerry cans to collect the spilled fuel. A simple human error of tossing away a cigarette butt ignited the flames, immediately engulfing dozens of men, women and children. Some attempted to jump into the nearby river but it was too late. What was disheartening was the fact that government officials had been notified of the oil spillage several hours before the fire erupted and none came to verify the claims let alone offer an immediate solution such as prevent people from collecting the oil and furthermore carry out an evacuation.

Unfortunately, the situation is not unique to Kenya and is a common issue in developing countries globally. Large quantities of wastes such as uncollected garbage, human waste, chemical waste have been produced and dumped into our river systems in the past century. A major slaughter house in the city dumps all of its waste (blood and animal parts) directly into the river. The public and scientists have grown increasingly concerned about the effects of these waste disposal sites not only on the environment, but also on the human body. In Kenya there have been documented cases of health complications arising among the informal settlements along the river.

What we need to do is ensure that proper waste management and water quality regulations are put in place to govern waste management amongst industries and human settlements near rivers. Without a set of laws to be implemented not much can be done to recover our rivers. A means to preventing human waste contaminating our water is by relocating informal settlements to better planned reserves, that offer affordable housing and actual toilet systems. 

Companies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can cooperate to improve the management of industrial chemicals and waste by instigating recycling schemes, publicizing and constantly lobbying the need to prevent pollutants from our river systems might stir up enough trouble to ensure action is taken in keeping our rivers clean.

https://www.edwardmungai.com/node/110