By Christopher Oji
Secretary, Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LSWRC), Mr. Ahmed Kabiru Abdullahi, has disclosed that many boreholes in the state are contaminated with faeces causing serious diseases. He said the agency would not overlook or tolerate the indiscriminate drilling of boreholes and warned that those who failed to comply with the law of the land would be forced out of business.
He spoke more on water processing, management and the dangers of not regulating borehole drilling, in this interview.
What is the present situation of borehole drilling in Lagos State?
In a situation where we have issues with effluence discharge, we would have wanted a situation where drinking water is produced properly, in line with the provisions of the law. This is a very serious issue; it has continued to create serious impact on the environment. When you discharge such effluence without treatment, it ends up in our water body. This is a facility that the community relies upon. We want the effluence to come from a direct and pure source. It should function properly.
How do react to the state government charging retroactive bills on water usage?
The practice of the state charging retroactive bills on water no longer holds. It came up at the commencement of the implementation of fieldwork. The present situation in the state is that we want all water service producers to comply with the provisions of the law and commence payment of current year billings, while the state overlooked the issue of arrears. People are already complying, it is important to point it out and to call on those in the sub-sector to comply with the law. We are open to discussion.
LSWRC regulates all aspects of water, from treatment up to distribution and sale. Whenever you use water, it generates waste. We want to make sure that service delivery is enhanced, that people are being served with right and quality water that is safe for consumption and domestic use.
Many water-borne diseases are experienced in almost every family including typhoid, diarrhoea and cholera. The case of Queens College, Yaba, is a very good example. It also happened in 2016 in Isolo.
These are dangerous signals that we must take seriously. Yes, the water sector has been left without regulation for so many years, but let us now do things in compliance with the law. Water is a resource that belongs to all of us. If anyone is taking that resource for his or her own use, they should pay back something for the rest of us. That is where the issue of charges becomes effective. It is a very minor amount it is 0.1 of a naira. The payment is backed by the provision of the law. It is legal.
We cannot keep quiet in the face of the indiscriminate drilling of boreholes in the state. It cannot be left to continue. Over 400,000 have been drilled and every borehole is a window into the end. What we are doing is to identify who owns a borehole in a particular location. We should be able to identify that there is a person who knows what a borehole is that can take care of the borehole, and take care of the window into the end and prevent pollution of the groundwater.
As we speak, the topmost aquifer of water (water reservoir in the ground), there are four aquifers, the topmost aquifer has virtually been polluted. Thirty-five years ago, we would fetch water in ponds and drink. Now, you can’t fetch water and drink without treatment. We have now shifted to the second and third aquifers.
If nothing is done, the second and third aquifers would also be polluted. Moreover, 163 boreholes were tested and they had the presence of poly form (faeces) sewage that had gone into the water. If we allow it to continue, it would damage the water. Groundwater is one of the precious sources of water.
We are not saying people should not use it, but we want to regulate how they use it. We want to know what residents are using, how they extract it. Some of the pumps in use today also leak oil into the water. Some dig holes and dump chemicals into the water. This also pollutes our water. We can’t fold our arms and watch things go bad. The multiplier effects of these things would come to task us in the future. We want to make sure that we put things in the right perspective and make sure that the situation doesn’t end in disaster.
Who produces water in developed countries?
Water is produced by private participants who extract water while the government regulates. It is not all pipe-borne water that is produced by the American government for example. Some are private investments, they give you an area and a standard that you extract water, service the community and you charge for your service. Investment in water is very huge.
Even if we sink all the budget into water, we would not have solved the water problem in the next four years. Houses are not charged for domestic purposes. We allow you to use 50 litres. We are only interested in standard.
We tested the Queens College water and there was presence of faeces. We will take out most of those who are not complying with the law of the land.
Is taxation on boreholes not illegal?
Lagos boreholes tax is not illegal. As the chairman of the Toiletries and Cosmetics Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. Ikpong Umoh, alleged recently that the state collects illegal tax on boreholes, we don’t collect money from private-owned boreholes. We only charge on boreholes used for commercial purposes and we are backed by the law. We don’t collect illegal tax.
Umoh also accused the state of failing in its responsibility of providing free water for the populace as done in developed countries, but this is wrong, as water is not free. The government contacts private participants to run water affairs and the citizens pay something, no mater how small. This is what we are doing in the state. We charge a small amount, almost at zero percentage.