Epidemic looms as water scarcity hits Lagos

There is palpable fear of an epidemic outbreak in Lagos as the state has been hit by water scarcity which is aggravated by the lingering fuel shortage and power outage in the country. Residents had in the last few weeks lamented the development which had unsettled them with severe economic and psychological implications.  Presently, over […]

There is palpable fear of an epidemic outbreak in Lagos as the state has been hit by water scarcity which is aggravated by the lingering fuel shortage and power outage in the country. Residents had in the last few weeks lamented the development which had unsettled them with severe economic and psychological implications.
 Presently, over 50 per cent of the water needs of the state are serviced through boreholes, shallow wells and water vendors while less than 10 per cent of the residents have access to public water. Water from all these sources have, however, become comatose due to lack of public power supply and petrol to power the generators with which to run the borehole pumping machines, among others.
The inadequate supply of water has also come with such consequences as water pollution, with the attendant poor sanitation and water-borne diseases. Many inhabitants of the slum areas in the state have their baths in open spaces because of lack of public or private bathrooms and toilets; water from these activities usually contaminates the wells and boreholes around.
In Lagos, the boreholes and shallow wells are sunk at random by both skilled and unskilled workers. Many are also contaminated by the water coming from drainages and sewage systems.
A recent measles outbreak in Otodo Gbame, Ikate Eti-Osa Local Government Area of the state where 25 children died was linked to bacterial infection in the community water. The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, affirmed that water samples taken from the community confirmed traces of bacterial infection while the victims’ blood samples and throat swabs analyses conducted at the Virology Reference Laboratory (VRL) and the Drug Quality Control Laboratory (DQCL) of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Ikeja, all indicated that the children died of measles.
An estimated 18 million people presently experience water shortage in Lagos. Yet, the state government recently raised concerns over the rate at which landlords and property owners in the state individually sourced their water needs with boreholes in virtually all households. This, to a large extent, indicated the ineffectiveness of the Lagos State Water Corporation (LSWC), the agency saddled with the responsibility of ensuring adequate water supply to households across the state.
The state government, through the LSWC, has three major waterworks – in Iju, Adiyan and Ishasi respectively, while 48 mini water schemes are scattered across the state. Despite these, the state is still experiencing water scarcity. About $2 billion (N400 billion) is said to be needed in the next 10 years to actualise safe water for at least half of the state population.
Eko Trust investigations showed that the water scarcity situation is the same in all parts of Lagos; from Ikorodu to Ikeja, Oshodi to Ayobo, Surulere to Badagary, and Ojo to Lekki. Findings indicated that many landlords in  Lekki have the worst experience in sourcing water for daily use in their homes as they need to spend millions of naira to dig and have clean water from boreholes due to the topology of the area.
In places like Lagos Island, Ikeja, Surulere, Ketu and Agege and even parts of highbrow Ikoyi and Victoria Island, the main sources of water supply are the itinerant water vendors popularly called ‘mairuwa’, who themselves buy from water tankers or houses that have boreholes. The main sources of water supply in areas like Ijanikin, Epe, Badagry and Ojo are open well.
Mrs Khadijat Mohammed, a trader in Ketu, noted that the price of buying water stored in kegs by the ‘mairuwa’ had gone up drastically as a result of the scarcity.
“A 20-litre keg of water, which was sold for N25 before the present shortage of water, power supply and petrol, has doubled in price. I now spend about N2,000 daily on water, that is even if I can find any ‘mairuwa’ to sell to me,” she said.
A cart pusher who sells water, Haruna, confirmed to our correspondent that before the present water scarcity, he used to pay N15 for a 20-litre keg of water from where he sourced it and sold to consumers for N25, but nowadays, he said, he bought a keg for N40 and sold to his customers at N50.
Executive Secretary of Ojodu Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Alhaji Ahmed Jaji, attributed the present water problem being faced by members of the Ojodu community to inadequate planning for Ojodu, an area which he said was now expanding.
He said: “I actually don’t believe there is water shortage in Ojodu. The real situation is that we have water in Ojodu but it has been commercialised. Ojodu is a growing city and I don’t think those who did the planning had Ojodu in mind when they were laying the Lagos water pipes.
“Some private individuals have put up pipes and are now selling water exorbitantly to residents of Ojodu. Also, most private homes have their own wells or boreholes. And recently, the Lagos State government came out to discourage people from digging boreholes because of its effect on the underground structures of the city. So, what we can say now is that government’s involvement in water supply is minimal but that does not translate to water shortage in Ojodu.”
Managing Director of LSWC, Engr. Muminu Adekunle Badmus, however, rejected any indictment of the corporation in respect of the present water shortage in the state.
 “The disruption of water supply being experienced recently in some parts of Lagos is due to a technical fault at the Akute intake which affected our major waterworks at Iju and Adiyan,” he told our correspondent. 
Assuring the public of the corporation’s commitment towards providing uninterrupted water supply, Badmus urged the public to bear with LSWC as “the problem is for a short while; our engineers are presently working to carry out the repairs.”