Maua: A town in danger of being swallowed by water

The plan, included in the 2013-2017 Meru County Integrated Development Strategy of the first governor, Peter Munya, never saw the light of day.

The recreation park was to host a multiplex, water park, floating restaurant, boating and cable cars, with the total project estimated to cost about Sh5 billion.

However, with the onset of the El Niño rains currently pounding the country, the basin in the centre of the city is now a 'lake', with the ominous feeling that the entire town could be submerged. Torrents of stormwater and streams gush down the hills that drain into the basin.

“We are afraid that if this problem is not addressed, most of the buildings might be submerged or even collapse,” said Peter Koome, a resident.

Walking around town, one is confronted with the reality of the damage the current rains have caused. At least half of the town is underwater. Deserted business premises here, a church marooned and partly submerged there and a plot underwater which is on sale.

Locals are counting their losses after floods forced them out of their homes. Mr Moses Lichoro, a businessman says he has so far lost property worth over Sh3 million after his petrol station was submerged in water.

“I have not operated my business for the last three weeks and the losses amount to millions of shillings. The challenge with the town is that the drainage was not well planned and it needs a complete overhaul,” he said.

According to Mr Ezekiel Kinyua, a resident, all the water coming from the hills flows to one area, which has caused a lot of havoc.

“Over the past month I have incurred losses of over Sh70,000 because tenants have moved out of my houses,” he said.

Ms Rose Karimi, a resident we found moving from a flooded house said she was worried that her children would contract diseases. “Most of this water you see is raw sewage and if the situation continues we might contract waterborne diseases,” she said.

Residents living in the lower part of the town are the worst hit.

Mr Kibiti Rintari, a hotelier, has incurred losses amounting to millions of shillings after water swept into his hotel due to lack of proper drainage on a road above his hilly plot.

“There is a stream that flows across the road and when it was being constructed, we told engineers to install a big calvert to accommodate the volume of water but they did not listen to us. The culvert they installed cannot cope with the water,” he said.

So what is the cause of the problem in Maua town?

The town is one of the most poorly planned urban centres in Meru, with only one main road that cuts across while access roads have been encroached upon.

Illegal structures have been built on the road reserve, which leads to constant traffic snarl-ups. The presence of boda boda operators has compounded the situation, resulting in a serious congestion crisis in the town.

Miraa dealers ply their trade near the main road, causing congestion with any relocation talk causing constant conflict with the county government.

The devolved unit accuses some developers of erecting buildings on top of sewer and drainage lines, saying it was the main cause of blockage.

In July 2018, the Tana Water Services Board (TWSA) completed the construction of a sewerage and water project that was expected to benefit over 100,000 residents of the town.

The Maua water supply, drainage and sewerage treatment plant was completed at a cost of Sh1.2 billion and is expected to solve the drainage problem in the town. But this system is now dysfunctional, sending officials of the national and county governments back to the drawing board.

Mr Timothy Mwenda, the town administrator says some people set up their houses on a wetland, which was wrong because it exerted pressure on ground water.

He said the system has been overwhelmed by the high volumes of water, adding that governor Kawira Mwangaza’s administration has plans to expand it.

“We have issued those who have constructed structures on water ways with notices that they should vacate those areas. If they don’t the structures will have to be demolished. We will be forced to make the hard decision to pull them down so that we bring sanity in this town,” he warned.

An engineer who was once involved in the design of the sewerage project said the main problem is that private developers built high-rise buildings on waterways. He says for sanity to prevail the buildings will have to be demolished.

He particularly noted that a stream that comes from one of the hills has been blocked, changing its course.

“Residents have always complained that there is poor drainage but the truth of the matter is that these developments are to blame. Once you block water coming from the catchment areas (the hills), the water will have to find its way and in this case, it flows on the roads and the other residential areas,” the engineer said on condition of anonymity.

“If owners don’t want to demolish them, they will definitely crumble and cause more damage including loss of life because those constructions are not properly reinforced,” he warned.

“We have advised that the only solution is to bring those buildings down and ensure that the water takes its course. As for the swamp, it can be reclaimed because people have already been allocated plots there,” he said.

He said another alternative would be to carry out a hydrological survey and establish the volumes of water that come from the catchment areas after which a tunnel would be created to accommodate it.

“However, this is very expensive since it will involve the mobilisation of resources to enable the construction of a big canal to accommodate the huge volumes of water. The survey would also put into consideration how much water flows there even during an El Nino like the one we are experiencing,” the engineer added.

The water logging has also raised concern that residents might contract diseases including cholera since the sewer systems have been interfered with.

 Mr Mwenda said with only 20 percent of residents connected to the sewerage system, the rest use pit latrines with the flood water now highly contaminated.

“We are worried that this is a disaster in waiting. Most of the water you see is actually raw sewage. We have cautioned residents to be careful with the domestic water,” he said.

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