The National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) on Monday arrested officials from five hotels in Kitui town.
According to the authority, the owners of the hotels were operating without an Effluent Discharge License (EDL) which allows them to release treated wastewater into the environment in line with the Water Quality regulations.
NEMA added that the owners had failed to comply with improvement orders issued previously.
Besides the hotel owners, NEMA also arrested the principal of a medical college in Kitui town for alleged pumping of raw sewage onto a public road.
"They had not applied for Effluent Discharge License- which is illegal as stipulated in the Water Quality Regulations, 2006. The principal was arrested and to answer to the charges," NEMA added.
All officials will be arraigned in court to face their respective charges. They risk different fines and penalties if found guilty.
Some of the penalties include closure of the premises, imprisonment for not less than one year a fine of not less than Ksh2 million or both.
Per the NEMA regulations, all the EDL is issued by NEMA after each facility submits a report on effluent, and effluent sample analysis results from an accredited NEMA-licensed laboratory.
NEMA in the past warned landlords and other property owners against discharging effluent into the environment. The authority emphasised that this is harmful to the environment and the ecosystem.
The Authority also conducted crackdowns in different areas of the country making arrests violating the regulations.
According to the Water Quality Regulations, any person found guilty risks a Ksh50,000 fine. Upon conviction, the court may also give such other orders that it may deem fit.
"No person shall throw or cause to flow into or near a water resource any liquid, solid or gaseous substance or deposit any such substance in or near it, as to cause pollution," read parts of the regulation.
