The efforts of the Chibuike Amaechi-led administration in Rivers State in providing social amenities stand threatened as companies executing road projects in the State are causing severe damages to utility channels.  

Last Monday, residents of Azuabie and its adjoining communities woke up to find the water channels at Zoo Roundabout, which supply the area with water from the Trans Amadi Station reportedly burst by RCC Ltd, the company doing a road project there.

According to the Station Manager of the Trans Amadi Station, Mr. O.E. Enwere, the damage to the channel has rendered the more than 2,500 residents of the area without water with several gallons of water wasted, a situation some residents who spoke to this reporter attributed to carelessness and lack of due diligence on the part of the company.

Similarly, the water channel at Ndoki Street, off New Layout Street in the Township area of Port Harcourt was, on Thursday, November 5, 2009, allegedly burst by a construction company, Sam Owutubo Nigeria Ltd, putting about three thousand residents of the area in jeopardy of having no water.

The Rumuola/Rumuokwuta area of Port Harcourt has over the years been having persistent issues with damages done to water channels. In fact, a few months back MCC, the company reconstructing the road linking Port Harcourt/Aba Expressway to Ikwerre Road got some water channels there damaged though they were repaired shortly after.

Incidents of damage, burying and outright destruction of channels providing the people access to social amenities raises the question of adherence to due diligence and best practices in executing developmental projects with experts saying that companies doing construction projects especially roads in urban and rural areas with channels providing social amenities are supposed to relocate such channels putting them out of harm’s way.

A top functionary of this administration, who spoke on condition of anonymity, regretted this anomaly, saying “over the years it is obvious that water utilities in Port Harcourt and other parts of the State have been neglected, while some have been damaged, buried or destroyed out-rightly in the course of doing roads”.

He added that “given this negative impact the construction of roads is having on these channels, the efforts of the Ministry of Water Resources under the newly appointed Commissioner, Miss Patricia Simon-Hart, at rehabilitating water facilities and structures in the State risks being undermined except something is urgently done”.

Speaking to this reporter, residents of the affected areas unanimously called on the State Governor to intervene in the matter so that water supply could be restored to the affected areas.

Our findings indicate that with the new drive of the Ministry, the improvement in power generation across the State, and the firm resolve of the Governor Amaechi-led administration, the people of Rivers State have no business being without water as there are three water stations in Port Harcourt supplying the various parts of the State capital.   

So far, the State Ministry of Water Resources has reactivated all the water pumping stations in the Port Harcourt area with water supply resumed in parts of Port Harcourt, including Old Port Harcourt Township, Harbour Road, Marine Base, Old GRA, Ogbum-na-Abali, Trans-Amadi, Elekahia, among others.

What the State Government resolves to do about this situation stands to be seen as the clamour for restoration of the damaged water channels and calling of the erring companies to order to avoid further disruption of utilities in the State.