Govt to spend N30b on water labs

THE Federal Government would spend about N30 billion this year to build six new water laboratories in the six geo-political zones of the country.

The Director, Water Quality Control and Sanitation of the Water Quality Laboratories and Monitoring Network Program (WQLMNP), Ministry of Water Resources, Dr. Obiora Agada, who disclosed this at a review workshop of water quality in Enugu, said the laboratories would be located in Sokoto, Maiduguri, Umuahia, Makurdi, Asaba and Port Harcourt to complement the six existing ones.

Agada said the laboratories became imperative in view of the increasing rate of water-borne diseases in the country, stressing that studies had shown that 50 per cent of ailments in the country were contracted from contaminated water.

He said the Federal Government was desirous of checkmating the menace of water-borne diseases, explaining that the main objective of establishing water quality laboratories was to foster effective surveillance on drinking water sources nationwide.

His words: “It is also to render commercial services to our clients so as to determine the wholesomeness of any suspected water sources. The ministry, with the support of UNICEF, is working on an initiative called ‘Community-based Water Quality Surveillance, Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage Programme’ towards ensuring that our teeming populace drink from safe sources and also to generate water quality data, which could be used for planning and development”.

Agada expressed concern that the routine monitoring being carried out by existing laboratories have not affected the lives of the people as expected, going by several complaints reported in the media.

He said these confirmed that water providers still conduct their activities without regard to the quality of water supplied the populace.

Agada listed climate change, pollution, human activities and industrialisation as some of the factors that had given rise to water-borne diseases in the country, stressing that citizens should be conscious of the quality of water they consume.

He stated that efforts to get quality and adequate water supply to Enugu had been hindered by paucity of funds and the topography of the state.

However, Agada disclosed that the situation could be overcome with the discovery of quality water at the Oji River area of the state.