Lagos warns residents against contaminated water

The Group Managing Director of the Lagos Water Corporation, Engineer Muminu Badmus, yesterday decried the proliferation of boreholes in the state, saying it constitutes a serious health and environmental hazard to residents of the state. Appealing to the residents to migrate back to public water supply, Badmus explained that persistent rainfall that goes into the […]

The Group Managing Director of the Lagos Water Corporation, Engineer Muminu Badmus, yesterday decried the proliferation of boreholes in the state, saying it constitutes a serious health and environmental hazard to residents of the state.

Appealing to the residents to migrate back to public water supply, Badmus explained that persistent rainfall that goes into the sewage finds its way to the groundwater and, thereby, contaminates the groundwater.

The LWC boss, in a statement, stated that groundwater pollution is where the pit latrine in the background pollutes the shallow well in the foreground with pathogens and nitrate.

“This is also caused by on-site sanitation systems, landfills, effluent from wastewater treatment plants, leaking sewers and petrol filling, among others, which are released to the ground, making their way down into groundwater resources and rendering them unsafe for human consumption,” he said.

Badmus asked Lagos residents to connect to potable water supply from the Corporation and desist from drinking contaminated groundwater or patronising the informal sector.

He said drinking polluted groundwater or contaminated water could trigger many types of diseases like cholera, diarrhoea and other serious water borne diseases.

Badmus disclosed that the Water Quality Monitoring Team of the Lagos Water Corporation was conducting a regular water quality routine check (sampling & in-situ analysis) on water delivered to their customers to ascertain the quality of water supplied to their homes and ensure consumption of potable water always.