Association Tasks Nigerians On Borehole Drillers

The Borehole Drillers Association of Nigeria has called on Nigerians to rely only on registered drillers to forestall damages to the environment.
The President of the association, Mr Francis Uzoma, made the call in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.
He said such damages could result from formational problems that leads to difficult drilling and total project abandonment.
According to him, indiscriminate and poor borehole drilling have negative impact on poor rural communities and cities, particularly in the dry season when alternative water sources are scarce.
‘‘Eventually the water would be exhausted forever, thus causing serious problems to the environment and human life.
‘‘We need to allow professionals to be in charge of borehole drilling in the country, so that we will have reduced numbers of abandoned boreholes in the country.
‘‘It is also important to help to promote value for money in the sector, if you engage the professionals, you will have value for money and quality of work done will be assured.’’
The president added that the impact of the unregulated drilling of boreholes or wells included creating scarcity of drinking water, vanishing moisture and fertility in the soil.
Uzoma stressed that water contamination was another consequence of indiscriminate construction of boreholes.
He added that such contamination could extend to other boreholes within the area with devastating effects on human health.
He said the group was working to carry out awareness on proper drilling practices, urging the National Assembly to pass the Water Resources Management Bill into law.
He said that the bill would facilitate efforts to prioritise issues in the water resources sector via sound policies and programmes.