Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has assured residents of Naka in Gwer west LG Area of Benue State of a lasting solution to the continuous pollution of over 40 wells by substance suspected to be petroleum product in their community.
DPR’s Deputy Controller, Engr. Gabriel Adagba who gave the assurance when he visited the community with team of DPR officials and Engineers from Prompt Engineering to carry out a manual and scientific investigation of the suspected underground storage tanks.
Daily Sun gathered that the underground tanks belong to Gabrow filling station and the community strongly suspected they were the cause of the pollution in their wells for more than three years now.
The visit was sequel to a formal letter written by the Naka-Adoka community to DPR and other relevant authorities in the state for quick response to the devastating effects of the polluted water from their wells.
Adagba said the initial test conducted on Gabrow filling station did not indicate any leakage even when it was temporarily shut for 48 hours as a matter of procedure to determine if there were leakages from the storage tanks spilling into the wells.
He however assured that an extensive survey will be carried out with the range of about 2kilometers radius of the filling station and environs.
He said although the substance from the wells looked like fuel, samples of the substance had been taken for further investigation, even as he called on the residents of the community to remain calm and desist from using the wells to avoid any unfortunate circumstances.
Also speaking, leader of Prompt Engineering, Engr. Albert Uduokang, who also conducted scientific evaluation on the five storage tanks involving AGO, DPK and PMS to investigate rust on the underground tanks and pipes, said it was discovered that all the tanks were in good shape.
This he noted could mean that the source of the spillage in the community may have come from a distant source flowing through an underground water table and contaminating their source of drinking water.
The DPR appealed that all the affected wells be completely shut down for safety of the affected households and environs even as it called on the local government authority to provide alternative source of water to the people.
Responding, some members of the community including Gerald Ugbede and Ernest Gari, thanked officials of DPR for their quick response and intervention to ascertain the source of the spillage, just as they appealed to them to extend their search to ascertain where the spillage is coming from and possibly help curtail the spread.
The Manager of Gabros Filling Station, Polycarp Ameh, whose station is at the center of the allegation, heaved a sigh of relief that the pollution was not from his tanks as has been discovered after it was temporarily shut down for 48 hours.
On his part, Chairman of the Gwer West local government, Francis Ayarga, who was represented by his media aide, Benjamin Ado, commended the community for their maturity in handling the matter as well as the DPR for the painstakingly taking time to investigate the matter.
Ayarga however called on the DPR to also go step further by ensuring it pursued the matter to a logical conclusion with a view to unravelling the source of the spillage.