Enugu State Governor, Mr. Peter Mbah, has inaugurated a 120 million-litre per day water scheme in Enugu on Saturday.
He said at the inauguration at 9th-Mile Corner area of the state capital that the scheme and its reticulation has put an end to 20 years of water scarcity in Enugu.
He said by the inauguration, the government had increased capacity at the scheme from 70 million liters per day by additional 80 million liters per day bringing capacity to 150 million liters daily. Mbah said the government had also built 96 water galleries across Enugu to make supply accessible and affordable at home and in public areas. “Families connected to the pipeline network will get water in their homes, while those yet to be connected can go to the water galleries to fetch water.
“We have put in place measures to ensure we have constant electricity and the water will be cheaper compared to supply by tanker drivers. There is no way the water would be free of cost. “Those in the business of water supply using tankers will have to remodel their businesses and focus on construction sites. “We identified the provision of water as one of our first targets in the drive to execute our mandate and social contract with citizens of Enugu State.
“When we communicated this promise, it triggered disbelief since Enugu State people have witnessed countless unsuccessful attempts to address the problem of water shortage,’’ Mbah said. He urged residents to report anyone attempting to steal or vandalize water infrastructure so they could be brought to book. “Today in Enugu, our daily consumption of water is less than 100 million liters. Those connected to the state’s water pipeline network consume only 70 million liters per day.
“By the time new layouts are connected to the pipeline network, consumption will be about 100 million liters daily. “As it stands now, we can comfortably deliver 120 million liters of water daily,’’ Mbah said. He added that production would increase to 200 million liters per day at the 9th-Mile Corner water scheme in a few months.
The Governor said also that the water scheme was built using Internally Generated Revenue. He said the government would train the relevant workforce to maintain and sustain the project. Mbah added that new pumps would be installed at the Oji River Water Scheme in a few weeks to also deliver 50 million litres of water per day to the area.
In his remarks, Commissioner for Water Resources, Mr Felix Nnamani, thanked Mbah for fulfilling his campaign promise to Enugu residents and for keeping to his 180-day promise. Mbah promised during his electioneering campaign to deliver water to Enugu metropolis within his first180 days in office.
