Nakuru County Government is seeking Israeli waste recycling companies to invest in circular economy solutions for zero waste.
Deputy Governor David Kones said the County had extended an invitation to Israel waste water recycling companies to bring their circular economy solutions to Nakuru and had assured the companies of the county government’s full support.
Kones explained that the circular economy was a priority for Nakuru, not just because of its role in combating climate change by eliminating greenhouse gas emissions through waste management but also because it has immense potential for income generation for communities.
Speaking during an online meeting with Israel’s Ambassador to Kenya, Mr. Michael Lotem, to explore ways of partnering with Israeli firms to provide clean water to residents and enhance waste water reuse in the County, Kones indicated that the increasing urban population and expansion of urban cities had overstretched the capacity of trunk sewer lines, posing a huge health risk to Kenyans.
While noting that provision of clean water for domestic and agricultural use was a key pillar of Governor Susan Kihika’s administration, Kones said the County Government was also keen to partner with Israeli firms to provide clean water to residents, tap water recycling technology, and enhance the disposal of waste water and affluence.
The Deputy Governor said the Kenya Bureau of Statistics projected that there is an increased production of wastewater from industrial, commercial, residential, clinical, and domestic waste generation, which exceeds the ecological footprint.
He added that the sewer lines in the urban centres were becoming more and more costly to construct as the land on which they passed became more expensive to acquire for what many saw as low-value land uses.
Kones noted that the future of wastewater treatment involves embracing on-site wastewater treatment and recycling while at the same time handling surface water pollution.
“With the rising human population, the planet’s capacity to support this population is shrinking. The effect of poor wastewater on the environment cannot be overlooked,” stated Kones.
According to the Deputy Governor, Kenya should work towards eliminating the use of chemicals in wastewater treatment and reducing the need to exhaust waste using trucks.
He expressed the need to embark on the process of reducing pollution-related water scarcity, where rivers flow but no one dares use their toxic content, adding that by so doing, the environment would be cleaner from the source as it passes through land and as it empties into the ocean or other water bodies.
Kones observed that the County Government was aware of the fact that as Kenya’s population grows and living standards improve, increasing volumes of waste water effluent are being discharged untreated into the environment, causing major health and pollution threats and further reducing the amount of available water for drinking and agriculture.
More than 80 per cent of the world’s wastewater is dumped in the environment without treatment, especially in poor countries, according to a recent United Nations report that called wastewater an ‘untapped resource’.
“The world is going green, and we have to follow suit because even if we do not embrace the technology, it will catch up with us eventually,” Kones explained.
According to the Deputy Governor, with recycled water, one saves freshwater intake costs estimated at 30 to 40 per cent, and he adds that reclaiming wastewater for reuse is also good for the environment as it reduces sewer pollution.
In the era of climate change and water scarcity, he said industries, homes, and institutions should embrace water recycling to sustain their operations and keep their compounds clean.
He said it was time Kenya looked at water recycling on a large scale as a viable option to tackle the water problem in the country. Policies that promote the use of recycled water in agriculture, as Mr. Kones noted, will go a long way in ensuring water is kept in the social system for as long as possible.
The Deputy Governor proposed that both levels of government consider policies that create irrigated agriculture zones next to centralised sewage treatment works that would use recycled water and be run under strict guidelines.
The World Water Development Report 2019 states that agriculture, including irrigation, livestock, and aquaculture, is by far the largest water consumer, accounting for 69 per cent of annual water withdrawals globally, while industry, including power generation, accounts for 19 per cent and households for 12 per cent.
Currently, 36 per cent of the world’s population lives in water-scarce regions. Future forecasts paint a grimmer picture in the era of climate change, with the World Bank projecting that more than half of the world’s population could be at risk of water stress by 2050.
By Esther Mwangi
