An Assessment of Effluent Management Facilities in Motor Vehicle Garages in Nairobi
Abstract
This study assessed effluent management facilities in selected motor vehicle garages in Nairobi. A sample size of 32 garages (10 corporate and 22 independent) were selected using simple random sampling method. Data was collected by means of interviews and observation checklists. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. In the descriptive statistics, relative frequencies and percentage were used and results presented in form of tables and charts. In inferential statistics, t-test was used to test the hypothesis. The study found that oil/water separators were the most common facilities used for effluent management. Most garages were discharging their untreated effluent into the sewer line and a few into land. Few (28.13 %) of the garages had effluent discharge licences with corporate garages being more compliant with this requirement at 70 % compared to only 9.09 % of the independent garages. 90 % of the corporate garages and 81.8 % of the independent garages had facilities for containment of accidental spills. 78% of the garages were not carrying out effluent quality monitoring. Only 22 % of the garages were compliant with effluent quality standards specified in the Water Quality Regulations, 2006. 60 % of the corporate garages had separated foul water from storm water compared to only 18.2 % of the independent garages. Whereas all corporate garages involved in the study had conducted annual environmental audits, only 59.1 % of the independent garages had conducted annual environmental audits from the study findings.
The study recommends that all garages should install appropriate effluent treatment facilities with oil/water separator as a minimum. Garages should discharge effluent into the sewer line, obtain effluent discharge licences and monitor effluent quality as per effluent discharge licence conditions. They should also provide suitable facilities for accidental spillage containment and clean up. Garages should conduct annual environmental audits and separate storm water from foul water. NEMA and other authorities should educate garage owners on effluent discharge and enforce environmental legislation more stringently. Further research could be conducted to identify the factors contributing to low compliance among independent garages and also to develop the most efficient, cost effective and sustainable systems for management of effluent.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
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