Eze Nnamdi, a 33-year old treks for about 25 minutes as early as 5:00 a.m. to fetch water from Imiri-ani local stream. The stream is situated at the back of Chinatown building, Independence Layout area of Enugu State, very close to a dumpsite. He can’t afford to buy distributed water from the suppliers, so this is his only option.
He uses the water to cook, bathe and wash clothes. However, he said that some households drink the water after boiling it.
Indiscriminate waste surrounds the Imiri Ani stream where people fetch to cook, bathe and wash.
“We dey dry season and rain no dey fall, only from rain season we dey get water in abundance,” he said. Mr Nnamdi who has two children and his wife is pregnant with their third, buys pure water to drink because they can’t afford to buy supplied water sold between N5,000 to N20,000 every month.
Nnamdi is a case study of how water scarcity affects communities in Enugu and how they depend on any kind of water irrespective of the source or state.
Emmanuel Chigozie, like Nnamdi, endures long treks to get his water from the stream to bathe and do house chores before going to work as a security officer because he doesn’t have the money to buy water from suppliers. “We dey buy pure water to drink but it’s just that we need this water to cook, bathe and wash because we don’t pay for it” says Emmanuel.
Imiri-Ani, which means “water from the ground”, is many resident’s sole water source, they wash clothes, children swim, and residents take the same water home for cooking, bathing and sometimes to drink.
Aside from being a dumpsite, residents also defecate around the bank of the stream, making the place messy and smelly, an environment that is recipe for the easy spread of many diseases.
Independence Layout is one of the worst-hit communities where residents experience acute water shortage. Others within the same area are community layout in Transekulu, Achara Layout and Emene.
‘Ugbo-Ogrugru’ stream is the Unsafe Water Source for Residents of New Heaven, Enugu State.
Residents of Umuezebi, New Heaven, in Enugu town fetch water from ‘Ugbo-Ogrugru’ stream. Close to a dumpsite and unclean even to the ordinary eye, residents told Dataphyte that they do not have enough money to buy water from the suppliers, and they have to resort to surviving with what is available.
A caterer, Ifeoma Orua, born in the community, said people trek from far distances to fetch water from their stream because they have two. She said the residents rely on rain to get surplus water, but they scoop water from the ground in the dry season.
Residents scooped water from the Ugbo-Ogrugru stream.
Mrs Ifeoma, a mother of three children, said they depend on the 2nd Ugbo-Ogrugru stream for clean water because they were told it’s clean according to a laboratory test. Dataphyte could not independently verify the potability of the other stream
She also said they wake up as early as 5:00 a.m. to fetch water because during the dry season, the stream brings out little water as the day progresses.
On the question of safety and the health implication of using water from a polluted stream location, she said they resorted to using the water to wash, cook, bathe, and drink because they didn’t have money to buy water from the suppliers.
*Jerry Eze, a retired civil servant and landlord with more than four kids in the community said the stream had been a source of natural water supply for the past 50 years to him and his family.
“The water has been long, not today. Before they built this house, the stream has been supplying water, and even some people trek from other flats to fetch here,” he said.
Ugwuaji, where the South East Power Transmission Station is located and is also the official dumpsite for solid waste and sewage from Enugu metropolis. The community majorly depends on two streams – Afa and Ine – for their water supply.
These streams are contaminated by untreated run-off waste from the dumpsite, thus exposing the residents of Ugwuaji to various preventable water-borne diseases. The very few privileged community members buy water from water tankers for their household needs.
Spokesperson of the traditional rulers of the community, Chief Boniface Ani, a 59 year old, popularly referred to as the “Onowu” and a father of 6, said the construction of boreholes in the community by WaterAid Nigeria had eased the burden of water scarcity.
However, when Dataphyte visited, the majority of the residents still suffered water scarcity problems, making them fetch from the polluted streams.
Even these streams that the people depend on, sometimes dry up in dry weather. Afa, one of the streams in Ugwuaji, was almost dried up at the time of Dataphyte’s visit.
*Chigozie Magdalene, a farmer and tenant in the community, was seen scooping water from the almost dried up stream. She told Dataphyte that water scarcity and dry season had affected their farm output and she has to fetch water to wet her leaves.
Amakaji Paschal, a young boy who came with two kegs to fetch water, was disappointed when he got to the river after trekking for about 30 minutes only to find that the stream water was dried up and the only portion left was dirty. He said he might have to wait for 40 minutes for the water to settle so he can fetch a small portion home for his family to use for bathing and washing since his parents can’t afford to buy water.
High Costs for Clean Water
Residents who buy clean water from the water suppliers told Dataphyte they pay through their nose to get it for their households.
A 20kg keg of water costs N100 while those who buy directly from water suppliers spend about N5,000 to N20,000 monthly depending on the household and their water needs.
One of the residents in Independence Layout, Ada Mary, a food seller said she makes about 15,000 from her business every week. She then has to buy N10,000 worth of water from the supplier every 2 weeks to cook with and also use for other house chores.
Farmers affected by water scarcity
Godwin Chukwuma, a septuagenarian farmer and retired civil servant from the Nigeria Railway Corporation, lamented how water scarcity has affected his crop output.
Mr Chukwuma said some of his crops die because of water scarcity. The farmer said it is particularly stressful during the dry season, but during the rainy season, they enjoy a reprieve.
He also said the cost of getting water is high compared to the harvest they will make at the end of the day.
“Even Cassava roots die, no yam is alive now; all yam perished. Everything in the ground can’t grow without water. Even with this waterleaf we planted, we use water with a bucket and pump to spread water on it. You see people using pumps to spread it on their farm. It’s costly because we buy engine oil, petrol and pipe. But water is necessary for the crops to grow”.
Enugu’s Perennial Water Scarcity
Due to its topography, Enugu’s perennial water scarcity has been part and parcel of the state for more than two decades. Access to potable water is a luxury that most people cannot afford. Water is often difficult to access from underground and many people, like Nnamdi, Emmanuel and Paschal, walk long distances to fetch unsafe water.
People who can afford it, buy clean water from distributors who supply clean water at a cost.
Scary Data on Water Scarcity
According to a Water Aid research, by 2030 water scarcity will displace between 24 million and 700 million people worldwide with the current climate scenario. According to the UN, by 2040, one in four children may be living in areas of extremely high water stress.
In Nigeria as a whole, more than 60 million people do not have access to basic clean water supply. The fact sheet further states that 12 million lack decent toilets and 167 million lack hand washing facilities with soap and water.
In the case of Enugu, according to WaterAid, over half of the state’s residents lack basic water services. Their research shows that lack of access to WASH contributes to poverty and poor health, with almost one in ten children under age five being stunted.
In 2020, Enugu State declared a state-of-emergency in its Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector and established an 18-member inter-ministerial committee to revamp the WASH sector.
How Much Allocation has gone to Solving the Water Scarcity Problem?
Former governor of Enugu state, Sullivan Chime approved 400 million for portable water in 2013. The administration also allegedly received a a $50 million World Bank loan for the provision of water in Enugu metropolis and other towns.
The current governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in 2017 released N165m for rehabilitation of Ajali, Oji River Water Treatment Schemes to supply water in the metropolis.
Also, the state government received $50 million in grants from the French Development Agency (AFD) to fight water scarcity in the state. According to the Chairman of Board of Directors and Management of the Enugu State Water Corporation, Innocent Diyoke, the funding is being utilised for its purpose.
In July 2019, Coca Cola Foundation launched a 300 million naira project completed in 2020 to provide access to sustainable clean water, sanitation and hygiene services to over 10,000 residents in and around Nsukka, Ezeagu, Uzo-Uwani, Isiuzo, and Enugu South LGAs in the State.
However, despite the investments in bridging the water supply gap, by both the state government and international development organisations millions of people in Enugu still don’t have access to clean and potable water.
Enugu Water Corporation’s Pump Problems
Enugu State Water Corporation was established in 1991 and is responsible for water provision to the Urban populace of Enugu State, comprising mainly of about 1,200,000 people residing in Enugu Urban and about 386,000 populace of Nsukka urban, each spanning 85 sq kms and 30 sq kms respectively.
Currently, the corporation operates three water production plants for Enugu, and one (1) scheme at Nsukka, with about 450 kilometres of water transmission and distribution pipelines.
These schemes and their installed capacities are: Iva Headworks; 4,500m3/day (design/installed capacity), Ajalli Owa; 77,000m3/day, Oji Augmentation; 50,000m3/day, Nsukka; 19,000m3/day totaling 150,500m3/day.
When Dataphyte visited the office of Engr. Onyeka Martins Okwor, Managing Director, Enugu State Water Corporation to understand why the schemes do not meet the water demands of the state and the activities of the corporation to bridge the supply gap, The MD asked that we speak to the PRO of the corporation, who will answer all questions.
The PRO, Ugwu however told Dataphyte that he could not give proper details about what the government is doing to curb water scarcity. He said he can only talk about the water corporation’s activities.
He blamed the acute water scarcity in the state on the breakdown of Oji and Aja River Water Scheme pipes which had been built 40 years ago. “We have issues at Oji and Aja River so that is what we are tackling. The pipes there, some of them were built more than 40 years ago, the pumps there are old and we keep on maintaining them. They are breaking almost every time, that is our problem and we are looking for new pumps.”
In 2018, the same water schemes described as broken down with “40 year old pumps” were rehabilitated and said to produce 10,000 cubic metres for Ajalli and 15,000 cubic metres for Oji water. Back in 2018, the then Managing Director of the Water Corporation said water problems were a thing of the past and the only problem was power supply which he said would be resolved by the construction of a dedicated power line linking Ajalli scheme to Oji Sub-station.
In 2019, the Enugu State Government awarded a N600 million contract to FordMarx Nigeria Ltd for the rehabilitation of the 9th Mile Water Scheme. The announcement came with promises of more solar-powered boreholes that will resolve the power problem and serve the Enugu metropolis.
The Water Corporation could not provide explanations on the different water schemes ongoing in the state and what challenges these sources might be facing that has led to such acute scarcity as is being experienced by residents of the state.
Expert take on health implications of using contaminated water
Orjiakor Maxwell, a geophysics expert and member of the Society of Exploration Geophysics and National Association of Petroleum Exploiters, told Dataphyte that scarcity of water is a general issue for the South-East and some parts of the north because of the topography and enclavement of the area.
The Water, Sanitation, and Health Hygiene (WASH) expert said the hard water that is found in these regions contains chemicals and some of these chemicals occur as the water travels.
“The common sources of water contamination include industrial and agricultural contaminants. These are being gotten from organic substances, petroleum products and heavy metals from disposal sites. Then we have pesticides and fertiliser in the farm that can be washed down by water to streams, and when this gets to the water underground, it will have an impact on them.
“We also have human and animal waste that can contaminate water and while water treatment is good, it can also leave behind unhealthy byproducts. Let us say, for example, chlorine. Too much chlorine intake has a health impact.
Mr Maxwell said the effect of drinking contaminated water is plenty from gastrointestinal issues to nervous system breakdown, and chronic diseases including cancer.
“When you take this water that has e coli for a long period it exposes you to reproductive issues, nervous system issues, and brain issues,” he added.
Samuel Ajala is a data journalist and research intern with Dataphyte.
He has an interest in covering SDGs - education, climate change, energy transition, and gender equality.
You can follow him on Twitter; @ajalasamuelakin
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