The Challenge Of Sustainable Management Of Water Resources

As part of efforts to brace to the emerging challenges in managing water resources, National Council on Water Resources recently held a meeting in Jos to proffer solutions to the myriad challenges facing the sector.

The meeting was aimed at generating policies and strategies that would aid the provision of potable water for Nigerians in a pragmatic way.

The meeting also held to examine ways of coping with the challenges of climate change, flooding, irrigation, dams, sanitation, hydrological services, integrated water management and hydropower.

Dr Godknows Agali, the Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry of Water Resources, disclosed the focus of the meeting at the opening of the National Technical Committee’s meeting.

He said that the meeting, which brought together experts and stakeholders in the sector, would address flood and allied issues, while discussing ways of making the country’s river basins more functional.

“The aim of the meeting is to seek ideas and strategies to tackle hydrological and flood related issues.

“We shall examine the programmes in place to sensitise people on water usage and drilling to combat ground water reduction.

“We shall also discuss the effective management of floods, in view of climate change,’’ Agali said.

To that end, five sub-technical committees were set up to deliberate on issues such as Dams, Reservoir and Hydropower; Irrigation and Drainage, as well as Water Supply and Quality Control.

The other themes of the sub-committees are Manpower; Funds and Research, as well as Nigeria’s Hydrological Service and Integrated Water Resources Management.

After two days’ deliberations, the sub-committees submitted their reports to the National Technical Committee for consideration, reactions and amendments.

Dr Emmanuel Adanu, the Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Dams, Reservoir and Hydropower, who presented the group’s report, called on the National Council on Water Resources to set up a committee of experts to investigate dam-induced floods across in the country.

He noted the spate of floods that recently ravaged many parts of the country and stressed need to control natural and man-made floods.

Adanu urged dams’ owners and operators to acquire a comprehensive hydro-meteorological database to enable them to predict flood patterns and prepare early for emergency situations.

“A proper legislation should be put in place by the Ministry of Water Resources to prevent people from developing and residing in the high-risk flood areas.

“There should also be a proper watershed management to minimise siltation and control flooding in dams and reservoirs,’’ he added.

Adanu canvassed the need to carry out a comprehensive national inventory of dam instrumentation on dams, explaining that dam instrumentation would enable the generation of structural behaviour data on dams and reservoir to provide early-warning signals on instability and alerts on potential hazards.

Adanu, who also is the Director of Dams and Reservoirs in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, said that proper dam monitoring and instrumentation was important to avert potential dam hazards.

Saying that many dams in the country were not properly instrumented, Adanu urged the Council to approve public awareness campaigns to sensitize stakeholders to the importance of dam instrumentation.

Mr James Bassey, the Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Irrigation, Drainage and Agriculture, who presented the group’s report, urged the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to initiate short-term remedial measures to alleviate the adverse effects of flooding.

He also called on the ministry to approve the adoption of efficient and more effective pressurized method of water application in the development and management of irrigation infrastructure.

“Developing 100 hectares of irrigated farmlands annually would bring two million hectares under irrigation by the year 2030 and this will be more cost-effective in the long run.

“This will also prevent or minimise future water scarcity, stress and conflict, while easily undertaking the conversion of surface water transmission and distribution canals to the pressurized system,’’ Bassey said.

Prof. Goldface Irokalibe, the Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Integrated Water Resources Management, noted that there were few Nigerians working in the secretariats of the regional agencies overseeing the resources of River Niger and Lake Chad — the Niger Basin Authority (NBA) and the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC).

Advising qualified Nigerians to seek employment into regional water agencies, Irokalibe said that an increase in the number of Nigerians working in the two organizations will heighten Nigeria’s participation and influence in transnational water management in Africa.

He noted that Nigeria had been making the highest financial contributions to the agencies’ projects, citing the country’s contribution of five million U.S dollars, out of the six million dollars required for the feasibility studies on inter-basin water transfer from Oubangui River in Central Africa Republic to Lake Chad project as an illustration.

Besides, Irokalibe urged the ministry to work toward the prompt passage of the Nigeria Integrated Water Resources Management Commission (NIWRMC) Bill by the National Assembly.

“We urge the ministry to persuade the National Assembly to fast-track the ongoing process of enacting the NIWRMC Bill into law,” he said.

He also urged the ministry to conduct a review of the existing draft water resources policy document to take due cognizance of the principle of integrated water resources management.

Irokalibe also called on the ministry to support the recommended 40 per-cent women representation in water-related committees and other policy organs in the three tiers of government, in line with the resolutions of the 1992 Dublin Conference.

.To achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the water sector, Mr Adedayo Mark-Adeyemi, a water expert, called on water agencies to fully implement the projects assigned them.

Mark-Adeyemi, ho is the Special Assistant to the General Manager of Ogun State Water Board, said that any agency found wanting should be replaced.

“Let us go back to the basis and solve the problem of water supply at once. Let water agencies stop returning monies to the treasury when they have not fully implemented their projects.

“Let the agencies carry out their responsibilities very well and let government provide the enabling environment for them to perform.

“That is the only way we can meet the MDGs on water supply and provide potable for our people,’’ he said.

Mark-Adeyemi made the call, while reacting to the presentation of the Sub-Committee on Water Supply and Quality Control, chaired by Mr Usang Bassey, a water consultant.

In the presentation, Bassey said six states had been selected for the pilot stage of the community-based Water Quality Surveillance, House Water Treatment and Safe Storage Programme.

He said that Zamfara, Niger, Taraba, Ebonyi, Oyo and Cross River states were selected, using factors which included rural settlement, low water and sanitation coverage, high diarrhea and cholera incidence and high population.

He said that two local government areas and five communities per local government area were chosen for the pilot programme in each of the six states.

Bassey stressed the problems relating to the quality of drinking water and the recent cholera outbreak in some parts of the country necessitated some urgent measures.

“Water-borne diseases can be reduced significantly through the strategies of the programmes, as well as good and hygiene practices.

“Effective surveillance of drinking water requires collaboration and cooperation of all the levels of government, relevant ministries and agencies, communities and households,’’ he said.

Bassey also presented a memo on the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) programme, saying that 425 communities had been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) in Nigeria as a result of the CLTS programme.

He said that the CLTS programme had gained appreciable acceptability in the country, adding that 30 states were currently implementing the programme.

Bassey said that more than 2,654 communities were currently implementing the CLTS scheme, while 425 communities had been declared ODF.

“There is an increase in CLTS coverage from 1,887 communities and 299 ODF communities in December 2009 to 2,654 communities and 425 ODF communities in June 2010.

“The National Task Group on Sanitation has also carried out monitoring and verification visits to 84 communities in 28 states that have attained the status,’’ he said.

Bassey said that the exercise revealed that CLTS scheme had gained ground in 25 out of the 28 toured states and was contributing greatly to increased construction of latrines in the rural areas.

A total of 19 memoranda, considered by the National Technical Committee, were later presented to the National Council for consideration and approval.

At the opening of the National Council meeting, Minister of Water Resources Obadiah Ando assured stakeholders that the Federal Government was committed to the completion of hitherto abandoned water projects.

He said that the government took the decision at the last emergency meeting on the sustainable management of the country’s water resources.

Ando conceded that a lot still needed to be done to actualise plans to provide safe water to Nigerians, adding, however, that a remarkable progress had been made in that regard since the last Council’s meeting.

The minister said that the Federal Executive Council had awarded contracts for some dam and water supply projects that would increase water supply; boost irrigation activities and hydropower in the country.

He said that the ministry had put in place a machinery to develop inundation maps to combat climate change effects.

“The ministry is putting a motion to develop inundation maps along major rivers to control the people’s use of flood plains with high-risk flood potential.

Ologunagba writes for NAN

 

 

“Areas that likely to be flooded once every 100 years will be defined. These inundation maps are to provide guidance in urban development and protect farmlands for rural dwellers,’’ Ando said.

However, Malam Idi Waziri, Plateau State Commissioner for Water Resources, said that the state government was working in partnership with local governments and development partners to implement the water supply, sanitation and hygiene policy in the state.

Saying that the state government was striving to provide potable water to the people, Waziri commended Ando for his efforts to reposition his ministry for excellent service delivery.

Also speaking, Ms Ebele Okeke, a former Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, urged the stakeholders to promote good sanitation, saying that water supply without proper sanitation would be counterproductive.

Okeke, who is the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Ambassador in Nigeria, however, noted that sanitation was the most neglected aspect of the MDGs.

She called for the collaboration of the stakeholders to improve the sanitation coverage of the country in Nigeria, urging them to give sanitation a priority attention.

 

Also speaking, Sen. Ewa Heinshaw, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Water Resources, pledged the National Assembly’s commitment toward sustainable management of the country’s water resources.

Heinshaw gave the assurance that the legislative work on the NIWRMC Bill was 98 per-cent completed and would soon get to a third reading.

“The NIWRMC Bill is scheduled to pass though the third reading very soon, the bill is between 95 and 98 per-cent completion, we will only review our committee’s recommendations.

“We are also working on the amendment of the bill establishing the River Basin Development Authority (RBDAs) and the bill establishing Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency,’’ he said.

Heinshaw, nonetheless, urged the RBDAs to collaborate with state governors to sensitise the people to the dangers of living in flood-prone plains.

 

“Work with your governors to address the challenge posed by climate change, you need to partner with them to look at comprehensive strategies to combat the scourge,’’ Heinshaw said.

In its communiqué tagged “Jos Declaration’’, the Council said that the national water supply level was 54 per cent, while the national sanitation level was 32 per cent.

Describing the performance of Nigeria’s water sector as poor, the Council also expressed concern over the prevalence of water-borne diseases in the country.

It decried the high rate of infant mortality arising from water-borne diseases, adding that Nigeria might not be able to meet the targets of the MDGs unless the situation improved.

It called on the Federal Government increase its funding to water projects, particularly in view of the huge capital outlay needed for water treatment and reticulation plants.

The Council also said that Nigeria had the potential to develop 3.2 million hectares of irrigable farmlands to reposition the country to become one of the world’s net food producers.

 

It urged the three tiers of government to invest in earth dams’ construction and irrigation projects across the country to enhance food production and animal husbandry.

Observers stress the need for the implementation of the Council’s resolutions, saying that if they are faithfully implemented, the country’s water sector will experience a remarkable transformation, while its citizens will also have greater access to potable water.

 

By Cecilia Ologunagba