admin
A water borehole near Eldoret town in Kenya has turned into a centre of attraction after local residents started drawing petrol from it.
David Mwaura, the owner of the borehole, said he suspected his source of water was contaminated by a�?seepagea�? from two nearby petrol stations. a�?I suspect it is a�?seepagea�� from the underground tanks of the nearby petrol stations or a Kenya Pipeline Company pipe. There must be a bigger source for this petrol because three other boreholes within a 100-metre radius also have oil residue, a matter which we have reported to the chief who needs to act urgently and counter the looming disaster,a�? said Mr Mwaura. Residents had on Saturday noted an unusual smell emanating from the borehole and decided to find out what was the cause only to discover the borehole had petrol.
a�?Currently, there is a serious shortage of water as we rely on boreholes. But that is not the reason we are crowded here. This borehole is producing petrol and it is an answer to our prayers,a�? said Elias Onyango. The residents claimed that unleaded petrol was not hazardous and protested against attempts by security personnel to cordon off the area. a�?This discovery has come at the right time… We have been depending on this borehole for water but I have got 20 litres of petrol that has fetched me Sh3,000,a�? said Willy Wangila, oblivious of the danger. a�?We dona��t need any interference from police. They should leave us to continue generating income from here,a�? said Stephen Oliwa.
Area Member of County Assembly Ramadhan Ali said the incident was a health hazard and called on Kenya Pipeline Company and the surrounding petrol stations to investigate the source of the petrol seepage. Between December 2014 and January 2015, there was a similar incident when residents of Burnt Forest in Uasin Gishu discovered diesel fuel had infiltrated their wells, forcing them to walk long distances for clean water. They blamed a road construction company that had set base in the area for the problem, saying that some of its underground tanks were leaking. The Chinese company however, denied the accusations, stating that their tanks were not leaking. a�� www.standardmedia.co.ke
Online Reporter
