Kitengela Rotarians pledge River Athi cleanup

Environmentalist Daniel Wanjiku (centre) being installed as the new Lottery Club head Kitengela chapter at a colourful ceremony held at Athi-river on Saturday. [Peterson Githaiga, Standard]

The Rotary Club Kitengela has pledged to intensify the cleanup exercise of River Athi.

Speaking at Athi-river during the installation of the club's head Daniel Wanjuki, the lottery members said environmental conservation beyond tree planting and nurturing should be undertaken to curb rampant pollution.

The pledge comes a few days after the Parliament Public Petition Committee raised alarm over the hazardous state of the river.

The Rotarians said the polluted state of river Athi is hazardous especially to consumers of the contaminated water downstream and the mega Thwake dam.

The once free flowing River that was a beacon of hope that quenched the thirst of residents has been reduced to colored effluent with a choking stench.

The Rotarians said they will also intensify education in schools on tree nurturing to encourage the culture of planting tree species based on climate.

Wanjuki who doubles as an environment expert said cleaning up the river clogged with effluent will be a priority to the club members who have embarked on resource mobilisation.

The cleanup exercise will entail weekly removal of garbage and educating locals against careless dumping of garbage and waste water.

The initiative comes amid a partnership between Mavoko Water and Sewerage company and Eco Save Africa aimed at unclogging stagnant sections of the river through bacteria treatment.

Surrounding companies are blamed for discharging raw wastewater and effluent with heavy chemicals to the river.

Last year the National Environment Management Authority issued a stern warning to factories in Mavoko town for discharging their effluent.

The officers who toured part of the river took samples of the water that had turned pink and presented them to the government chemist to assess the level and kind of pollution.

The warning saw governor Wavinya Ndeti make a pledge of ensuring the river is clean.

"We have already initiated talks with the national government and the governments of Kiambu, Nairobi and Kajiado, which are jointly responsible for discharging emissions into the river with an aim of reversing the trend and cleaning up the water resource," she said.

Ndeti advised residents to source domestic water from other seasonal rivers and boreholes as they work on a plan to stop further upstream pollution of the river.

" We are concerned about the pollution of River Athi, which is risking the lives of our people. But the good news is that the matter tops our priority list as soon as we take the oath of office," she said.