By Fatima Saka
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Groundwater provides almost half of all drinking water world-wide, it constitutes about 40% of water for irrigated agriculture and about 1/3 of water supply required for industrial purposes.
Groundwater also sustains ecosystems, maintains the base flow of rivers and prevents land subsidence and seawater intrusion. It is an important part of climate change adaptation and is often regarded as a solution for people without access to safe water.
In spite of these impressive figures, groundwater is not easy to come by, as it is out of sight and out of mind for most people.
A cross-section of residents of Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, and Nasarawa, who spoke with NatureNews, lamented the harrowing experience they go through in a bid to have Access to Portable Water.
According to Mrs. Mariam Hassan, a resident of Mararaba, a boundary community between FCT, Abuja and Nasarawa State, “We don’t have water in our area, even when we want to buy from ‘Mai ruwa’ (those who dispense water in jerry-cans) at the cost of about four hundred naira per jerry-can, we don’t usually get it.
“We are suffering in our area, sometimes it is from other residents who have boreholes that we get water from, but since the fuel scarcity, we don’t have access to water, any longer.”
While talking about hygiene and purification of the water, she said “sometimes, I use water guard, or the local sieve in filtering the water for drinking and other domestic use.”
She called on the government to come to their aid.
On her part, Mrs. Teresa Ajebi, a resident of Karu Iga, in Nasarawa State, said she relied on the flowing stream in the area for drinking, cooking, washing and other domestic chores. She added that she doesn’t preserve the water because she believes that the source of the water is natural.
Mr. Adeniji Olusheye, a resident of Nasarawa state, said “our only source of water supply is through ‘Mai ruwa’, even though, we don’t know the source of water they sell to us, but, we still have to patronize them, because there is no alternative. For drinking, we drink sachet water (otherwise known as pure water) or bottle water.”
Also, Mr. Dele Omale, a resident of Buari Area Council in Abuja, said boreholes remain the source of water for most residents of the area. “I have access to water through local boreholes, we normally purify the water by boiling it. We all know that ‘water is life’, we don’t have access to the public water supply.
“We are calling on the government, particularly the Abuja Water Board, to ensure that residents have access to public water supply, as well as tap into the increasing population growth with a view to making effective future plans for the country.”
While speaking on the theme of this year’s World Water Day, “Groundwater, making the invisible visible”, Dr. Dame Princess Joy NKY Okoro, Ag. General Manager, FCT Water Board Abuja, noted that groundwater is water beneath the earth’s surface, usually in rocks and soil spaces.
She added that most of the water from streams and rivers go through the rocks in most areas, even sands.
The Ag. General Manager said the Water Board has been doing its best to “make the invisible visible” adding that “we get our water from Gurara waterfalls, Niger State, which is about 75 kilometers, and the water goes into the Gurara Dam, located in kaduna State.
The water goes into the treatment plant for purification before distribution to the general populace.
In achieving the theme, Dr. Okoro said a lot of money has been spent, a lot of infrastructures had been put in place to ensure that people have access to potable water.
“During the planning stage of the cities, the distribution and reticulation of the water network were carried out in phases and because of the influx of people, the cities keep growing rapidly day by day.”
She however hinted that the Water Board is already working on how to build more reticulations that will increase the distribution of water into the cities.
As Nigerians join the rest of the world to observe the 2022 World Water Day, it is hoped that all hands will be on deck towards the actualization of the theme of this year’s celebration, “Groundwater, Making the Invisible Visible”.
