Poor coordination between contractors working on the Nairobi Expressway has led to the sewerage menace at Syokimau in Machakos.
The parliamentary committee on environment expressed concern over this on Tuesday during a site visit.
Committee chairman Francis Chachu said as a result, there was sewer outburst leading to the flooding of a private school alongside other properties in the area, few kilometres from Mlolongo weighbridge.
“The sewerage lines were damaged due to the ongoing expressway construction on Mombasa road.
"Because of that, there was a sewer burst and the whole place was flooded including a school that had to temporarily relocate,” Chachu said.
The legislators met with community stakeholders and local leadership including Ministry of Interior officials at Mlolongo assistant county commissioner Dennis Ongaga’s office over the issue.
He said apart from the relocation of Little Bees Kindergarten and primary school along Syokimau Loneview access lane, a number of facilities were also affected.
The legislator said their visit was prompted by Mavoko MP Patrick Makau's petition.
“Makau brought a petition to Parliament to urge the House to move with speed to ensure that this issue is sorted out and that’s why we are here today,” Chachu said.
Chachu added, “We came to see the problem at hand. We also had a meeting with the stakeholders, relevant agencies and owner of the affected school to understand the problems and how they were being addressed.”
He said the Water ministry through Athi Water Works Resources Management Authority had moved with speed and was constructing a new sewer line.
“They will be done in the next three weeks and within the other two weeks, they will be able to fumigate the environment so that affected schools can continue operating normally as well as the entire community.
“We will continue monitoring the process to ensure the promises made by concerned stakeholders are done. We are, however, happy that the processes to sort out the mess are ongoing,” Chachu said.
Little Bees Kindergarten and primary school director Dona Cheptoo requested the process to be hastened.
Cheptoo said five weeks was too long, they need to resume studies in the school since where they had relocated wasn’t as conducive as the school.
Chachu said water authority was supposed to relocate the sewer lines alongside other water facilities infrastructures along the highway before the expressway construction commenced.
“There would be no such a problem if there was good coordination between the two sectors. We have been assured through consultative meetings and coordination that such problems won’t recur,” he added.
Athi Water Works Development Agencies engineer in charge of water and sanitation Joseph Kamau confirmed that the sewer blockage resulted from the expressway construction.
Kamau said the project’s contractor had damaged existing sewer causing sewer overflow into the neighbouring areas.
“That’s the menace we are trying to address, already we have delivered sewer pipes to cover a distance of about 500 metres.
"Our equipments are all working, we have completed restoring a distance of about 140 metres. We expect to complete the entire 500 metres in three weeks time,” Kamau said.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)