Nairobi — The national environmental agency has been asked to take immediate action as contamination levels in Sabaki River rises.
The river water is turning green and more fish are dying. Malindi district environment officer Samuel Nganga is worried about the delay by the government in taking action as the levels of poison in the river, detected a week ago, rises.
“The PH measure is as high as 9.9 in some places in Galana. This has led to the deaths of fish,” he told journalists at his office in Malindi.
The Kenya Medical Research Institute has taken samples of water from the river for tests
Mr Nganga called for intervention from the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) headquarters, saying the problem should be tackled hastily as the green matter in the river is quickly flowing towards the Indian Ocean, threatening marine life.
“We recommend that a team from headquarters moves from the river source and try to determine the source of the poison,” said Mr Nganga.
He said a survey by Nema Malindi officers at the confluence of Tsavo and Athi rivers, where Galana River starts, had indicated that the poison came from upstream on Athi River. Private firms and the Ministry of Water have taken samples for analysis at government laboratories but the results are yet to be made public.
