People living near Lake Victoria have been urged to maintain cleanliness and avoid releasing effluent to the lake.
Kisumu Water and Sewerage Company Managing Director Margaret Abira said the effluent being released to the lake by the residents is contributing to the rapid growth of hyacinth.
She took a swipe at factories and firms near the lake accusing them of dumping untreated waste into swamps and streams around the shores of the Lake.
“This lake belongs to all Kenyans and everyone has a responsibility of taking good care of it, but it's rather unfortunate that some factories around this place have made it a habit of disposing their wastes in the lake," she lamented.
Speaking during the launch of a programme aimed at rehabilitating and restoring River Kisat, Abira said some of the factories in Kisumu dispose their waste carelessly thus leading to the leakage of significant quantities of ammonia, chromium and nitrates into the lake.
She said this pollution is causing bad smell and is killing fish in Lake Victoria.
She further urged the local community to stay firm and hold the factories accountable.
Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) chief administrator officer Odeth Bateta urged other firms to join them in the restoration of River Kisat saying that the project will have a lot of positive impact on the residents.
“The completion of this project is going to help transporters, fishermen and other water users to get rid of polluted water,” said Odeth.
River Kisat is a four kilometer river in Kisumu that flows through farmland, informal settlements and part of the industrial area, before discharging its waters into Lake Victoria at Kisumu Bay.
It faces pollution from municipal waste from the Kisat conventional sewage treatment plant, industrial waste, dirt from surrounding informal settlements, oil and mechanical waste from informal car garages and molasses waste from informal alcohol brewing sites.
Lily Kisaka, the LVBC coordinator, said the project is scheduled to be complete early next month.
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