• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Nigeria and World Water Day (1)

Water resources bill and the rest of us

Recently, the world celebrated World Water Day. The importance of this commodity and its pervasive use is such that, the United Nations General Assembly adopted March 22 of every year as World Water Day.

The aim being to emphasise the importance of clean water with the intention to promote sustainable freshwater resource management. The immediate foregoing partly explains why we have taken the unprecedented step of putting in place a two-part editorial on this important issue.

Undoubtedly, water is a vital component of our daily life. It is used for irrigation, cooking, cleaning, and drinking, among other things. Water is necessary for optimum health since it regulates body temperature, performs normal functions, promotes digestion, and gets rid of toxins from the body.

Therefore, unless there is a clear commitment and sufficient action taken by the government, the country will miss the SDG 6 targets on people’s access to safe water at the current state

Water, the most prevalent natural component in the universe, occupies around three-quarters of the planet’s surface.

The ocean and other salt-water bodies contain 97.3 percent of the total water on the planet that is not freely useable for most uses. A somewhat higher than 2 percent of the remaining 3 percent is locked up and found in ice caps and glaciers.

The remaining 0.97 percent of freshwater utilised by humans for subsistence is located in lakes, rivers, and underground water, which can be used for home and agricultural purposes and provide livelihood support.

Even though water is abundant in the universe, various factors limit the amount of water used by people.

More than half of water sources are contaminated even though over 70 percent of Nigerians have access to essential water services. Also, an average Nigerian only has access to 9 litres of water each day, although 73 percent of the country’s population has access to a water source.

Over 86 percent of Nigerians lack access to a safely managed drinking water source, making sustainable and equitable access to safe drinking water a concern.

This year’s World Water Day focused on groundwater.

Groundwater refers to the water beneath the earth’s surface that can be collected with wells, tunnels, and drainage galleries and water that runs naturally to the surface via springs.

In most parts of the world, groundwater, an essential component of the hydrologic cycle, serves as a significant source of water supply. Because groundwater is safer and more dependable than surface water, it is an essential source for household, industry, and agricultural purposes.

Groundwater development is less expensive than surface water development, and the water quality is generally good, requiring minimal treatment and being potable in most areas. As a result, groundwater is essential in supplying water to rural and semi-urban areas of the country and some urban areas where surface water is unavailable.

The importance of groundwater exploration and exploitation for water supply cannot be overstated. Its advantage over surface water is that it is available in almost every part of the world, even if in varying quantities. However, human activities and climate change put increasing pressure on the world’s invisible groundwater supplies.

Nigeria is blessed with abundant groundwater resources. Despite the country’s diverse climatic and environmental conditions, groundwater is found almost everywhere.

Based on the estimated total annual groundwater recharge, Nigeria’s total renewable groundwater resources potential is estimated to be 155.8 billion cubic litres per year.

However, over-abstraction of groundwater is a problem in some areas, resulting in decreasing groundwater levels and, in some circumstances, land subsidence. These are primarily found in unconsolidated aquifers in urban areas along the southern coastal plain, such as Lagos and Port Harcourt.

Furthermore, in Lagos, households account for over 70 percent of the demand for water supplies. There is currently a difference between public demand for water and the amount that the state can supply.

Water supplies in public places are often unreliable, with frequent disruptions. Poor drinking water quality and inequity in access exacerbate the situation.

Read also: Why Nigeria lacks safe, clean water – report

In the absence of reliable public water supplies, many households and businesses have turned to private contractors to order their boreholes, ensuring personal water supplies. This makes the proliferation of domestic boreholes in Lagos and other states widely acknowledged.

Thus, non-state entities such as NGOs, individuals, and businesses are driving the surge in groundwater abstractions in many cities across the country.

However, the proliferation of groundwater use has grave consequences on the economy. Groundwater through borehole proliferation causes pollution and contaminants to spread.

High levels of contamination around borehole areas tend to affect borehole water, contaminating it. Also, most boreholes are exposed to pollution and pathogens, resulting in water-borne diseases such as typhoid, guinea worm, diarrhoea, and other illnesses.

In addition, groundwater depletion increases pumping costs, worsening water quality, loss of water in streams and lakes, and land subsidence.

The continuous withdrawal or borehole drilling from the aquifers can also lead to vertical and horizontal intrusion of the surrounding saltwater.

Furthermore, exploitation of groundwater has an implication for finance because the amount spent on drilling more and more individual boreholes can be used to construct a reliable source of water for the community, which is safer and environmentally friendly.

In conclusion, despite the potential of groundwater and its crucial role in Nigeria’s water security, it does not appear to be receiving the attention it needs in terms of development and management as governments, business entities, and individuals utilise groundwater recklessly and indiscriminately, with little supervision, organisation, or management.

Therefore, unless there is a clear commitment and sufficient action taken by the government, the country will miss the SDG 6 targets on people’s access to safe water at the current state. Against this background, it is important for the various levels of government to live up to its responsibility in this vital area.