Major tourism center in Kenya Rift Valley polluted by flower farms

The Kenyan government has issued a closure notice to eight flower farms located around Lake Naivasha and directed that any farmer still discharging untreated effluent into the lake be arrested forthwith.

Lake Naivasha, a major tourism center in the Rift Valley, has for years now been shrinking in size, with some of the shorelines now more than half a kilometer back from its original location, and the lake’s survival is now in addition threatened by the run-off waters full of fertilizers and effluent from farms, which have defied instructions to create their own tanks and waste management facilities. The Naivasha council is also under fire for constantly permitting sewerage overflows to reach the lake in an untreated state, adding to the woes of the lake waters. The council, too, was served with a notice by government to fix their sewage plant or else face stiff consequences.

Fishermen who used to make a living from the lake are now up in arms over their failures to catch fish, or else catching fish which has been contaminated, while growing numbers of fish appear to be dying due to suspected toxic contents in the water. However, in this case no toxological reports are available yet as the analysis from the lab is still awaited and has not yet been released.

According to media reports in Kenya, at least one internationally-owned flower farm has been taken to court and is being prosecuted for their errant behavior, while others now face closure if not in full compliance within a week after being served with the government’s orders.