Residents of the university community of Nsukka in Enugu State are currently experiencing acute water shortage. This followed the failure of Enugu State Water Board to pump water to the area in the past two months.
The worst affected are residents of Ugwuoye, Enugu Road and Nru. “We now buy water from water tankers at exorbitant prices,” complained Dr Emeka Nnadi, a lecturer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
According to him, “It has been over two months since water ran through our pipes from the water board. They have not told us the reason for this cut in supply.
“I don’t know if they are conniving with water tanker drivers because anything can happen in this country.
“Before now, we usually had water supply bi-weekly. It saved us a lot of money because once it ran, we would fill up our tanks and the quantity would last for over a month. With this development, we now buy at all costs from water vendors.”
Emenike Okpe is a resident of Ugwuwoye. He said, “I buy one thousand gallons at N15, 000. You can imagine!
“The worst is the source of the water. Some tankers fetch water from some boreholes that are not healthy for human consumption.
“You notice it when such water begins to change colours after some days. The only safe source of water is from the water board.
“It is treated. But some tanker operators won’t be sincere in stating their sources of water. Some even go to unhygienic streams.”
Many school children were seen carrying wheelbarrows in search of water. “We buy 25 litres of gallon at N100 from private tanks.
“The problem is that at times we go too far. This water scarcity is becoming too much,” complained a secondary school student around Ugwuoye junction.
Moses Ezugwu drives a water tanker. He said, “Poor power supply is adversely affecting us. At times, we stay over four hours to load water because there is no power supply.
“The owners claim that using generators to pump water to their reservoirs increases the cost. We also buy gas.
“These are the things affecting the prices. We don’t bribe the water board not to pump water to the residents. But we sell more when they fail to pump.
“We are in the private sector, and pray for such opportunities to come.”
A staff member of the water board in the zone, who refused to be mentioned, said, “The cause is power supply. We don’t generate much from water because it is free of charge to most residents. We are trying our best.
“But in the past two months, there has been one problem. We expect the government to do more in water supply to the Nsukka zone.”