The Governor of Enugu State, Diminish Mbah on Saturday, introduced the Ninth Mile Water Scheme which is anticipated to end the lasting water shortage within the state.
Mr Mbah said his government built the Oji River Water scheme within the state to guarantee satisfactory water supply in Enugu city at the moment and all parts of the state “within months.”
The water plans were built in fulfilment of the governor’s campaign guarantee to conclusion water shortage within the state within 180 days after his inauguration.
Governor Mbah said that his government was moved to construct the water plans since inhabitants and businesses in Enugu were confronting intense water shortage challenges with orderly financial suggestions within the state.
“When, during our campaign, we expressed this humongous vision to grow our economy from the current level of $4.4 billion to $30 billion, we recognised that one of the key fundamental impediments to this would be our access to the water supply.
“We also knew that the state of water in our (Enugu) State was deplorable – meaning we had no reliable water supply across most parts of the state. And this has gone on over the last 20 years.
“One need not be a rocket scientist to discern that few investors will be attracted to the state under such dire circumstances; neither can existing businesses expand or generate additional jobs or economic growth,” he said.
“If anything, these conditions were suffocating businesses and households and leading to unnecessary suffering across the state.
“Faced with these fundamental issues, and considering the suffering of Ndi Enugu, it was only natural that we identified the provision of water as one of our first targets in the drive to execute our mandate and social contract,” Mr Mbah stated.
Supply capacity
Mr Mbah said, that at the moment, the Ninth Mile Water Scheme produces 70 million litres of water daily while the Oji River Water Scheme produces 50 million litres of water daily.
“I am happy to announce to Ndi Enugu that as of today we are able to produce 120 million litres of water non-stop far above our consumption volume. I can state here and now that pipe-borne water is here to stay,” he said.
“We must be willing to pay for this service. A reliable water supply is not cheap! I promise that this water will be far less expensive than what you are spending today on water tanker supply, but there is no way the water will be free,” the governor stated.
“This will mean that we must be willing to pay for connection to the meters which will be installed by our homes and businesses and pay a fair monthly rate for the water we consume.”
The governor noted that although there had been cases of burst pipes around the metropolis, the situation was expected given that the pipes had stayed long.
“However, these constitute but teething problems which we will surely surmount in a matter of days and constant water 365 days of the year will once again be a reality in Enugu,” he assured.
‘Rural areas now our focus’
Mr Mbah said the state government has built public taps, otherwise known as water galleries, across the state to enable households and establishments yet to be connected to the water pipeline grid to have access to water.
“Those outside the grid, for the time being, can go to the water gallery. We have built 96 water galleries across the state. They can go to the water galleries to fetch clean water,” he said.
The governor stressed that his administration will now focus attention on getting water across rural and semi-urban communities in the state.
