Can trade effluent charges promote compliance and address water security risks in Nairobi’s manufacturing industries?

This research assessed whether trade effluent charges could promote compliance and address water security risks in manufacturing industries in Nairobi. This is due to the burden of effluent management that Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC), the largest water supply and sewerage Company in Nairobi, has been having in the management of effluent water despite the existence of comprehensive effluent discharge regulations. The research therefore assessed the water security risks faced by manufacturing companies and assessed the compliance rates of manufacturing companies with effluent waste water discharge regulations, to find out whether there is any effects on water security brought about by the trade effluent charges and to determine the effects of these charges on operational performance of Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company. A descriptive survey was used to carry out this research targeting a sample of twenty (20) manufacturing companies in Nairobi County spread across different sectors such as textile, agro-processing, oils and refinery and food and beverage. The research results reveal that most industries in Nairobi County consume between 10,001 to 50,000 m3 of water monthly and that most them are compliant with NEMA effluent discharge regulations. The research further showed that compliance with the set regulations have been on a steady increase from the year 2015 to 2017. On water security risks, the research established that manufacturing industries have been discharging a varying amount of effluent into the sewers of Nairobi city and most of them invest in various water efficiency measures to reduce water usage and comply with effluent discharge regulations. The research further established that NEMA effluent discharge regulations have had no effect on their operational performance of most industries in Nairobi County as the cost of effluent discharge is part of their budget. Additionally NEMA effluent discharge regulations had no effect on the water security risks of the manufacturing industries, in most manufacturing industries since most of them invested in drilling boreholes and rain water harvesting before the regulations were enacted to supplement water supply while for the remaining few, the said regulations had increased their water security by encouraging them to recycle water, invest in rain water harvesting and also utilize less borehole water. In conclusion, the introduction of the trade waste effluent regulations has had minimal effect in promoting treatment and recycling of waste water, reduction of costs in operation of municipal treatment plants and their maintenance and mitigation of water security risks. To promote compliance of regulations and investment in waste water treatment and reuse to address water security risks from demand side management, policy makers need to design incentives to compel large water users to invest in demand side management measures. These measures could include waste water treatment and reuse, water reduction interventions, measuring and monitoring water use. On the other hand corporate management need to incorporate water-use efficiency measures, sustainability and environmental protection within their strategies