By M, KNA
The Kirinyaga county government has embarked on the removal of all illegal structures erected on drainage systems to unblock waterways, ahead of the expected heavy rains to avert floodings.
The exercise, targeting all major towns involves excavation and clearance of the drains, restoring natural waterways and educating residents on flood risks among others.
The operation involving business community leaders, enforcement officers and the police, commenced early Thursday at Kagio town with demolition of structures built on top, or along the drainage system.
The County Executive for Environment, Energy, Climate Change, Natural Resource, Water and Irrigation James Mutugi, said the illegal structure has been the cause of perennial flooding witnessed in the town during the rainy season.
“We are here today to make sure that we clear our drainage system in preparation for the impending rain season.
During the rains, this town experiences a lot of floods, and as you can see, most of the structures have been built on the drainage system. There is no way we can stop flooding if the drainage canals are blocked,” Mutugi said.
Mutugi said the county government had issued vacate notices to all traders, who have erected structures on top of storm water drainage systems and a few had not complied at the expiry of the ultimatum.
“We issued a two-week notice to all who had built structures on the drainage system for them to remove and about 90 percent of them have complied. We are asking residents to avoid putting up structures along the drainage system, so that we can keep our towns clean and stop flooding,” he added.
The County Executive said apart from blocking the drainage system, the mushrooming of structures had made it difficult for proper cleaning of the town. Removal agreement was reached following a meeting between the county government and officials of the Kagio business community lobby.
He further cautioned property owners against connecting their sewer lines to the storm water drainage system, saying the drains are exclusively meant for rainwater.
“We are putting on notice those who direct wastewater into the drainage system. The drainage is meant for storm water, not sewage. Every building should have a functional waste disposal mechanism,” said Mutugi.
Similar operations will be rolled out in other major towns across county as part of a broader environmental management and climate resilience initiative.
“This exercise is being extended to all towns within Kirinyaga. We urge residents to cooperate, so that we can make our country clean, flood-free and environmentally safe,” Mutugi disclosed.
