Guide · NEMA environmental licences · Updated 2026-10-19
NEMA effluent discharge licence in Nairobi
Effluent is wastewater from a premises’ work — a factory, a car wash, a hospital, a hotel. Discharging it into the environment — a river, a drain, the ground — needs NEMA’s effluent discharge licence under its Water Quality Regulations, and the effluent must meet the standards they set. Discharge into a public sewer is agreed with the sewer’s operator, Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company.
When you need it
- Your premises discharge wastewater into a river, a stream, a drain or the ground.
- You treat wastewater on site and release it.
- Your EIA licence or an audit says you need one.
Who prepares it and applies
The owner or operator of the premises applies on ENVIS, with effluent test results from a laboratory NEMA has designated. Applications are made online on ENVIS, NEMA’s licensing system.
Check the site before you apply
Most of what a NEMA report describes is already on the map. Check these first:
| Check | Where | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| The plot and its number | Search the map by LR, block or FR number | Every report and licence names the plot. Make sure the parcel on the map is the land the project is on. |
| Rivers, wetlands and riparian land | The rivers and water bodies layers on the map | Work near a river or a wetland raises a project’s effects, and can need separate consent from NEMA and the Water Resources Authority. |
| Where wastewater goes | The Trunk sewer layer, and connecting to the sewer | Into a public sewer, it is agreed with the water company. Anywhere else, it needs NEMA’s effluent discharge licence. |
| What NEMA has licensed around it | The NEMA layers on the map | Neighbouring projects, and the emission and effluent licences near the site, are part of what the site already lives with. |
| The right to the land | An official search on Ardhisasa | The proponent must own the land or have the owner’s consent. Reports usually include a copy of the title. |
How the application moves
- Find where the wastewater goes. Into the sewer, a river, a drain or the ground — the answer decides who licenses it.
- Test it. A designated laboratory samples the effluent and measures it against the standards in the Water Quality Regulations.
- Apply on ENVIS. The application, the test results and the fee go online.
- NEMA reviews it. NEMA reads the results, may inspect the premises, and decides.
- Keep to the licence. The licence sets conditions: monitoring, records sent to NEMA, and its term. Renew it before it ends.
How long it takes
NEMA does not publish one time for every case. It decides once the application is complete, the test results are in and the fee is paid, and it may inspect first. Follow the application on ENVIS.
After the licence
Monitor the effluent as the licence says, send the records to NEMA, and renew the licence before it ends.
On the map: the NEMA layers
Effluent discharge licence records are in the map’s Licences and permits layer, one of three NEMA layers. Each record carries its licence and application numbers, the proponent it was issued to, the kind of licence, and the plot or LR number where the report gave one. It sits where NEMA’s licensing system drew the site — a point, a boundary or a line. A record whose report states a position far from that site is flagged, as a prompt to confirm the plot. Applications with no drawn site are not on the map.
The NEMA layers are add-on layers: each is bought once, on any plan, and kept — see plans and pricing.
Why start on Nairobi Maps
Every NEMA report starts from the site: where it is, what may be built there, and what is around it. Nairobi Maps holds those facts for every parcel in Nairobi on one map — the plot by its LR, block or FR number, its zone worked out for the plot, survey plans, rivers and roads, airport height limits, census population, and what NEMA has already licensed nearby. The owner, the architect and the expert start from the same facts. The whole checklist is in built-environment due diligence in Nairobi.
Questions
How long does a NEMA effluent discharge licence take?
NEMA does not publish one time for every case. It decides once the application is complete, the test results are in and the fee is paid, and it may inspect first. Follow the application on ENVIS.
Do I need an effluent discharge licence if I am connected to the sewer?
NEMA’s licence is for wastewater discharged into the environment. Wastewater into a public sewer is agreed with the sewer’s operator, Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company, which sets its own standards. If any goes elsewhere — a river or a drain — NEMA’s licence is needed for it.
What is effluent?
Wastewater from what a premises does — processing, washing, cooking, cleaning — discharged from the site.
Is Nairobi Maps part of NEMA?
No. Nairobi Maps is an independent map of Nairobi’s land, its planning rules and the records around them, for checking a site before you apply. NEMA decides every licence, on ENVIS.
Nairobi Maps is not part of NEMA. This guide explains the usual route under EMCA and NEMA’s regulations; requirements, fees and steps change, so confirm them with NEMA on ENVIS and with a registered expert.
Keep going
- All NEMA licencesWhich report your project needs, and how each one works
- NEMA Summary Project Report (SPR)The shortest EIA report, for low-risk projects.
- NEMA Comprehensive Project Report (CPR)The fuller EIA report, for medium-risk projects.
- EIA study report and terms of referenceThe full EIA study, for high-risk projects.
- NEMA environmental auditThe check on a project that is already running.
- Building and planning approvalThe county’s half of the permission, on NPDMS