Bringing Water To The Front Burner

Last Tuesday, March 22, 2016 was United Na
tions World Water Day. It is an event that
recognises the importance of water to life. The annual event calls attention to water and water related issues as they may accord with the good of mankind.
The theme of this year’s celebration: “Water and Jobs: Better Water, Better Jobs” particularly highlighted the two-way relationship between water and the decent work environment in the quest for sustainable development.
The Tide considers this year’s theme very apt considering the fact that water can create decent jobs and contribute to a greener economy and sustainable development. Incidentally the jobs side of it may be affected by the lack of public water schemes.
In Nigeria for instance, the theme would mean very little to many people because a high percentage of the population depend on water wells and private boreholes. Indeed the use of sachet water (pure water) has become rather too common. The situation is made worse by the general lack of water infrastructure in the country which has in turn affected the number of employees in the sector.
The recent strike by producers of sachet water, in Rivers State, over alleged high cost of raw materials to produce water shows how the condition of service of water providers can affect the entire society. But water workers in the public service cannot afford to as little as speak up even when most of the Water Works fail to work.
Sachet water became a big business in Nigeria because governments did not place priority on the sector. For many communities in the Niger Delta, it is worse as their water sources are polluted and the people are not covered under the water masterplan of the State. These are the persons who make up the 650 million people that are currently living without safe water.
We expect therefore, that Nigeria’s participation in this year’s World Water Day celebration would provide yet another opportunity for governments at all levels to chart a new road map for safe and potable water for the country.
Perhaps it should be restated that water is a prerequisite for life. Access to safe and clean water is not just a fundamental human right, it is about the greatest need of man. According to experts, the human body comprise of more than 70 percent of water. Besides the need for safe drinking water, man depends on water for various uses such as cooking, washing, bathing, putting out fire among others.
On the other hand, if governments at all levels fail to provide water that is safe, the population can also suffer water borne diseases like cholera, typhoid, guinea worm, among others. In fact, the quality of water from local wells are as a problem as the proliferation of water boreholes that have been identified to be having the capacity to cause major environmental hazard.
It is however gratifying that the Rivers State Government has a plan to take the water supply rate from the two percent, it inherited from the previous administration, to 82 percent in four years. Commissioner for Water Resources and Rural Development in Rivers State, Chief Ibibia Walter said new water scheme will be constructed in five local government areas.  He said  government would also rehabilitate and upgrade the 10 old ones; provide three water quality testing laboratories and equipment in the three Senatorial Districts of the State and provide hydrology and hydrogeology ground and surface water monitoring infrastructure among others.
This is a tall order, but it is worth the consideration. We want this government to prove that this is doable. They must rise above the ‘demon’ that had stopped successive governments from achieving water plans. It is particularly saddening that in spite of collaborations with United Nation’s organizations and funds released in some regimes, the plan to give water to the good people of Rivers State never got off the ground.
It is therefore imperative for the present government to toe a different path from its predecessors. Even so, government must develop a new water masterplan not only for Port Harcourt, but the State as a whole. It should also come up with laws and policies that will encourage private sector participation in the sector. This will not only boost potable water supply but also create employment opportunities in the State.
Meanwhile, the State government must, as a matter of urgency take steps to ensure that water being used by the citizens are safe and accessible. Only recently some communities in Andoni area of Rivers State recorded cholera and it was traced to their water source.
The plan to provide safe water to the people all the time must also take a futuristic view. That entails that authorities approving land sales and building plans must make provision for water pipelines alongside other public utilities.
By this time next year, the people should see the needed laws and plans to expand water supply especially the way it becomes an employment generator. We also expect that budget for the sector would become visible across the country.