Kano residents bemoan acute water scarcity

Some residents of Kano metropolis have decried weeks of acute water scarcity in the city and urged the state government to take appropriate measures to restore supply.

The water scarcity affected communities in Kano Municipal, Dala, Nasarawa, Taurauni, Gwale and Fagge Local Government Areas (LGAs).

A cross-section of the residents who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, said the situation has exposed them to untold hardship in sourcing potable water.

One of the residents, Alhaji Ismaila Aminu, said that the situation had made life unbearable for most families in the affected areas.

He noted that families now rely on unwholesome water from vendors despite its impurity and health risks.

“The taps are not running for weeks and the few available hand pumps are overstretched.

“Children spend several hours on queues to fetch water. We are experiencing difficulties in accessing clean water,” Aminu said.

Also, Mamuda Sadi, lamented over the situation, saying water vendors have hiked the price by about 40 percent.

Sadi said residents now buy a 25 liter keg of water at N30 as against its old price of N20.

“We are left with no option than to patronise unwholesome water from the vendors at exorbitant price,” he added.

Another resident, Mrs Halima Yusuf, called for proactive measures to address the perennial water scarcity in the metropolis.

NAN reports that Kano State Water Board had attributed the scarcity to a drastic drop in power supply to its treatment plants at Challawa and Tamburawa.

However, the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO), dismissed the allegations, saying it had recorded a significant increase in power supply to water treatment plants in the state within the period of the water scarcity.

Ibrahim Shawai, the Head, Corporate Communications of the company, in a statement, said the water board’s claim was “misleading”.

He added that power supply in KEDCO’s franchise areas had improved in the past three months.

“Based on analysis; Challawa and Tamburawa Water Plants get power supply between 20 and 23-hours daily.

“The claim by the Kano Water Board has no bases as far as KEDCO is concerned,” he said.

According to him, the power substations supplying power to Challawa and Tamburawa Water Treatment Plants are critical to KEDCO’s operations, as long as there is supply from the national grid.