Concerns Over Safe Drinking Water

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Water dispensed to the public by some state agencies may not be safe for human consumption, a federal government official has said.

Daily Trust report continues:

The Director of Water Quality Control and Sanitation in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Emmanuel Olusola Awe, made the comment while speaking with Daily Trust in Abuja recently.

He was responding to enquiries by this newspaper about the quality of water supplied by state water agencies.

However, some of the states denied the claim when contacted.

Mr. Awe said some state water boards have inadequate chemicals such as alums and chlorine, two major requirements in the provision of safe drinking water.

Apart from this, he said, waters were being contaminated before getting to the various households because supply lines are not being properly monitored.

Apart from the quality, he said, the volume of water dispensed to residents by water boards is “grossly inadequate.” He said these force residents to turn to other sources for their water which are generally unsafe.

On why the ministry has not been monitoring or sanctioning erring water boards, the Director said this could only be done when the Water Bill before the National Assembly is passed and assented to.

“We have the power to sanction any erring water board based on the Nigeria Standard for Drinking Water, which specifies requirements for safe drinking water as well as compulsory parameters for both water boards and private borehole owners. 

“This standard has been revised and enough of sensitization have to be carried out for the water boards nation-wide before we start punishing the erring boards. Our Water Bill must also be passed and assented to,’’ he explained.

He said based on the standard, any erring state water board could be fined up to ₦2 million.

In the meantime, Mr. Awe said the Federal Government has only six operational National Water Quality Reference Laboratories, where water can be tested for safety nation-wide.

He said the laboratories are located in Kano, Gombe, Enugu, Minna, Akure and Lagos.

Six others are under construction in Sokoto, Maiduguri, Makurdi, Asaba, Umuahia and Port Harcourt. 

On the price for the testing, the Director said there was no official price for now but said the amount was minimal and varied according to the kinds of tests requested for.

He warned private borehole owners not to drink the water before carrying out at least the first test on it, saying doing so will be dangerous to their health.   

However, some state water officials maintained that the high cost of the chemicals has in no way affected its availability of water.

The Kaduna State Water Resources Commissioner, Engineer Suleiman Aliyu Lere, disclosed that the cost of water treatment chemicals is now very expensive.

“Before now, we buy the chemical at ₦90,000 per ton but now, the price of quality chemical that contains about 17 to 18 percent alum, ranges from ₦200,000 to ₦250,000 per ton. Though it is expensive but we are coping,” he said.

On why many residents don’t have access to the potable water from the Water Board, the commissioner said the capacity of the plants has gone down due to lack of maintenance over the years.

He however said that rehabilitation of 12 other plants were ongoing, assuring that supply of water to residents would improve upon completion.

In Kwara State, the state ministry of water resources said it spend about ₦250 million annually on water treatment chemicals.

An official of the ministry admitted, however, that the quantity of the chemical required had dropped as a result of the current economic recession.

“We usually stockpile our chemicals that will last for one year but now it has reduced to a quantity that will last us for three to six month.

“The challenge we have is the exchange rate‎ because all our chemicals such as powdered alum, liquid alum and chlorine are imported because locally produced ones are not good enough,” the source disclosed. 

In Kano, the Managing Director of the Kano State Water Board, Engineer Auwalu Muhammad Galadanchi, said the state has not experienced shortage of water treatment chemicals for quite a long time now.  

He, however, said the state has, as matter of safety, suspended the use of chlorine gas because of the risk involved in its storage and usage.

“We are now using the powdered form of chlorine, commonly called HTH, for water treatment as we have suspended the use of chlorine gas for safety reasons. The board has in stock Aluminium sulphate among other needed chemicals for effective water treatment. I would also want to state here that we have started receiving part of the 300 drums of water treatment chemicals this week and I am sure all the 300 will be received by next week, this is to show you that we supply well treated water to Kano citizens,” the MD said.

In Kogi, the Acting General Manager of the state Water Board, Mr Dada Silas, said the Board was not having any challenge in the aspect of chemicals needed for water treatment.

According to him, the chemicals used by the Board for water treatment include chlorine, alum, hydrated lime and super-floc. 

He explained that the chlorine disinfects the water, alum clears the water, and the super-floc assists alum in coagulation while the hydrated lime helps in balancing the water ph. 

In Katsina State, the Permanent secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Sani Umar, says the state’s Water Board has in stock adequate chemicals like Aluminum, Sulphate and Chloride been used in the treatment of water. 

A worker said an average of 40 to 50 bags is used daily for the treatment, depending on what the water analysis of the day showed.

In Port Harcourt, the Rivers State an official of the water agency, who pleaded anonymity because he was not permitted to speak, said not much is going on at the treatment plant. 

Asked why an organization as big as Port Harcourt Water does not treat water, he maintained “I am not authorized to speak to the media. But I will advise you to get clearance from our administrative headquarters at Rumuola. If they clear you to speak with us I will tell you so many things about this place. But I can tell you that we don’t treat water here.” 

At the Rumuola office of Port Harcourt Water, the Public Relation Officer of the organization, Dennis Abah, referred our reporter to the water treatment unit of the organization. 

At the unit, a staff told our reporter that the head of the unit was not available for comment.

The Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu, had repeatedly said that the responsibility of providing portable water to the households in the states lies solely with the state governments. 

In Abuja the Director, FCT Water Board, Hudu Bello, said the quality of the water from the board is the bes in the country, adding that it is treated in more than five stages to ensure best global standard.

“In fairness to this government, the minister is ready to spend his last kobo on chemicals because he is a water man and has knowledge of water treatment,” he said.