The unavailability of potable water to residents of Abia over the years is worrying. The situation has forced residents to rely on streams and particularly, boreholes. But besides being the main source of water, the boreholes are now a booming source of income. Owners pump water into tankers, which is then sold or delivered to homes. The more adventurous ones process the water and sell it in sachets and bottles. One of the selling points of these borehole-sourced products is that each bears NAFDAC’s (National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control) ‘certification and number’, fooling the unsuspecting public, who consume the water at significant risk.
Before the emergence of the borehole dispensation, residents had depended on water harvested during the rainy season and stored in concrete underground tanks or overhead in aluminum or plastic containers. At a time, in Umuahia, residents enjoyed the magnanimity of the then functioning Golden Guinea Breweries when the company gave the public access to treated water from its borehole. That was 13 years ago!
“I cannot recall when my houses had the pleasure of having running water. I remember when we paid water rates and were happy to do so because water flowed from the taps, even if intermittently,” said octogenarian and resident of Umuahia, Chief Ajah Omeh.
Mr. Kalu Uma, a resident of Aba, the commercial city of the state, said: “We do not know why previous or incumbent governments did not accord top priority to the provision of potable water. And with the proliferation of boreholes in rural and urban areas, it is obvious government might consider the problem solved. This could further push the provision of water off the list of priorities.”
In the last 17 years, during the administrations of Governors Orji Uzor Kalu and Theodore Orji, there were attempts to rehabilitate the Umuahia Water Scheme. During tests, however, the underground pipes succumbed to intense pressure and burst. According to officials of the Corporation, “the pipes were weak because some were laid before or shortly after the Civil War.”
Within this period, there was a breakdown of the 57 water schemes scattered across the 17 councils in the state. The General Manager of the Corporation, Leo Ogbonna, categorically said, “they all went moribund, 15 years ago, causing the persistent unavailability of water in the state.” He added that contracts for rehabilitation were delayed due to obvious lack of funds.
At pains to explain why potable water has eluded Abians, he said: “Before now, some governments did not consider water an economic goal but rather as a political tool. They would promise the electorate water, electricity, etc. But year in and year out they would not deliver on these promises. This was why most water facilities in the country and in Abia State collapsed.”
While disclosing that the state will offer “new thinking, re-orientation and a roadmap, to rehabilitate the water schemes and expand that of Umuahia, in line with its growth and status as the state capital,” he, however, expressed worry over unsafe boreholes, warning: “If we see that a borehole does not meet standards, we shall shut it down, especially those sunk near septic tanks. There must be full compliance with the law, which states that before you sink a borehole, you must have a drilling permit issued after inspection of the site, to ensure it is safe.”
