10 takeaways from Mbah’s Speech on Enugu Water

Here are 10 takeaways from the speech by Governor Mbah’s speech at the commissioning of Ninth Mile Water Scheme yesterday.

• Enugu has more water than it needs
• Water tanker suppliers will go out of business
• Water won’t reach everywhere immediately
• Water is not free; residents will pay
• Water from galleries are free
• Excess water will reach communities outside Enugu City
• More water is coming
• Why you should pay for water
• Protecting water assets is everyone’s responsibility
• Why conserving water is good for everyone

1.      Enugu has more water than it needs

The 9^th Mile Water Scheme has capacity to deliver 70 million litres of water to Enugu City. Government will in a few weeks commission new pumps in Oji water to deliver another 50 million litres of water every day, giving a total of 120 million litres in Enugu. This is almost twice what the City needs.

2.      Water tanker suppliers will go out of business

Individuals and businesses that invested in water tankers will be out of business soon. Consider selling the tankers and reinvesting in other businesses. Alternatively, they could remodel their businesses, including focusing on areas outside the pipeline network for now, targeting construction sites and mobile businesses.

3.      Water won’t reach everywhere immediately

Those living in areas along the grid can pipe water to their premises immediately.  Those outside it cannot because the existing water pipe network does not cover newer districts and estates that sprang up after the last major pipe-laying projects in Enugu. He promised to “continue the effort to extend pipe-borne water to them.”

4.      Water is to be paid for

Water is not piped free to homes and businesses. Residents must therefore be willing to pay for the water. In this respect, government will be installing water meters to monitor and bill those who are using the water.

5.      Water galleries are free and located in high density areas

Government installed water galleries for two reasons. The first is to get water to areas outside the grid while expanding the grid to serve the entire metropolis. The second is to give access to the poor and disadvantaged who may not afford the premium cost of water supply.  Residents living around water galleries enjoy free supply.

6.      Villages outside Enugu get the excess supply.

Government shifts attention to rural areas after getting Enugu right. The Governor said his administration plans to creatively adapt water supply solutions to achieve “minimum levels of water sufficiency, sanitation and hygiene which will position us to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the appointed time.”

7.      More water is coming

Government will shortly commission Oji River Scheme to add another 50 million litres daily supply to Enugu, expand delivery channels by installling a second pipeline to take water from Ninth Mile to the twin towers, and boost the power availability at the water scheme to at least 4.4MW. In addition, government is digging a second phase of 16 boreholes at Ninth Mile to add to the volume.

8.      Why residents should pay for water

Water production requires a steady provision of electric power as shown by the example of the Ninth Mile scheme which will require 4.4MW of power at full capacity. Then there is system maintenance, constant training and retraining of those operating the system. Residents must pay to be able to sustain the service. Although water supply is not cheap, what residents are getting will be far cheaper than commercial water tanker costs. “There is no way the water will be free. Residents must willing pay for connection to the installed meters … and pay a fair monthly rate for the water we consume.”

9.      Protecting water assets is everyone’s business

Stakeholders must protect the infrastructure, including pipes going into residential areas, from those who vandalize and steal. He enjoined residents to always accost and report anyone attempting to steal or vandalize the assets. It goes without a saying that any person caught vandalizing or stealing any components of this system will face the wrath of the law.

10.  Conserving water is good for everyone

Residents must resist the urge to become wasteful in using water. Optimizing responsible use of water will reduce the costs of operating the system and result in lower monthly bills for everyone. The logic is simple: the more water residents waste, the more they pay; less water consumed results in lower bills for everyone.

CONCLUSION

The word “sustainability” occurred many times in the speech, indicating his desire to see that this achievement does not die like other before it. The responsibility for sustaining the project, he correctly noted, is with both the operators of the system (water corporation) and the citizens. The citizens bear the greater burden of the responsibility – by helping the authorities secure the assets, and by paying their water bills.

Bob Anikwe

Ogbuagu Bob Anikwe is the publisher of Enugu Metro. He writes a well-received column for Enugu Metro (on Sundays) and the (Nigerian) Sun Newspaper every Thursday. Contact Bob through any of the channels below or send an SMS to +234 803 622-0298. More by Bob Anikwe

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