Threat of Boreholes
There are concerns among the residents of Tsaunin Kura GRA, Sabon-Tasha area of Kaduna metropolis over the proliferation of boreholes in the community. John Shiklam writes
The proliferation of borehole as a source of water for domestic use by residents of Tsaunin Kura GRA in Sabon -Tasha area of Kaduna metropolis is raising serious environmental concern among members of the community. Unlike most government reserved areas (GRAs), where almost every amenity, from good road network to provision of electricity and potable water is provided by the government, the case of Tsaunin – Kura is different as the community had been solely responsible for the provision of these basic amenities following neglect by the state government.
Tsaunin Kura, a GRA populated by the Christians in the southern part of Kaduna metropolis, is the only GRA without motorable roads since its inception many years ago and it was only in 2013, that residents had to mobilise their resources for the grading of the roads to make them motorable. The state government later intervened by grading some of the roads.
But the failure of the Kaduna State Government to provide potable water has left residence with no choice than to indiscriminately dig the ground for their water needs
Fears are being expressed about the environmental implication of concentration of boreholes and wells in the community in the future, if steps are not taken immediately to reverse the trend through provision of water to the area by the state water corporation.
Chairman of part of the Tsaunin Kura GRA, behind Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, Mr. Timitayo Omole, in an interview with THISDAY said the present challenge requires urgent attention.
According to him, there are 13 boreholes within a radius of 150 metres, in different houses in the community, noting that the story is not peculiar to his side of the GRA alone.
He disclosed that since the GRA was founded some years ago, residents have been able to overcome the challenges of providing basic amenities for like the provision electricity, grading of roads and security through communal effort, lamenting however that the water problem has remain very difficult.
“When we came here some years ago, there was no road, water, electricity and security for the community, so we came together and we formed a three-man team led by myself Silas Jonah and Mr. Aguba. We brought electricity to this neighbourhood. This was in 2008, we bought 25 electricity poles, 3,000 metres of cable, aluminum conductors, 75 insulators and all accessories that should go with an electricity project.
“There was transformation of the community and as a result of the electricity, many people started trooping in to start developing their plots of land and building their houses.
“Our own GRA is the only GRA without tarred roads. The roads were not motorable and in 2013, we graded them through communal efforts. The state government later came to help us grade other parts of the roads” he said.
Narrating efforts to get the area connected with portable water, Omole said some years when he moved to the GRA, he visited the Kaduna state ministry of water resources and “they were kind enough to listened to our plea and after a couple of months, they came to install water in our side of the GRA.”
He regretted however that unfortunately, the quality of the pipes were so bad that they could not take the pressure of the water and so they were breaking and in some places, they were completely destroyed and as a result, the community never benefited from public water.
“This led to people trying to device means of getting water in their various homes because, as you know, water is life. The easiest option that people came up with is to sink boreholes and wells in their homes so that they can have water.
Omole noted that the soil type around the community is a very light clay soil, noting that this has serious implication on the well being of the residence if boreholes are being constructed indiscriminately without professional and expert advice and the intervention of the state government.
‘We need for experts to enlighten the people about the consequences and help find a way out of the potential challenge that may be faced in future.
“We fear that in future, if the indiscriminate sinking of borehole continuous in the neighbourhood, it may affect the water table and because the soil type around the community is a very light clay soil, once you begin to dig 9 to 18 feet, you will know that the water from the water table provides the buffer to provide support for the soil on top” he said.
Omole maintained further that “if there is indiscriminate sinking of boreholes, it is within reasonable possibility to assume that the gap created by the dropping water level will create a hole and we will begin to have problems of sink holes as they have in the United States of America, especially in California as well as other parts of southern America and China.
“We do not have the technologies to deal with sinked holes and the attendant problems. Therefore we need to begin to address the problem by finding a sustainable way of water consumption in our neighbourhood” he added.
He appealed to the incoming administration of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to come to the aid of the community by providing potable water to avert an impending environmental disaster in future.
“We have done a lot in the past; we have been able to provide everything for ourselves as a community, including the provision of a police outpost for our security. We are calling on government to look into the issue of water and security because these two basic things are beyond what the community can undertake .
“Let me on behalf of the people in this community use this opportunity to congratulate the governor-elect for Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai. We are looking forward to his efficient performance to impact on our community by addressing this problem of water.”
Experts have also warned that the construction of boreholes indiscriminately is capable of causing earth tremor and called for proper and effective regulation of groundwater abstraction, stressing that if the continuous, it may eventually lead to environmental hazards such as over-abstraction of ground water, salt intrusion, aquifer depletion and water quality degradation, among others.
They also noted that Nigerians are not known to purify water from boreholes before consumption, saying that though groundwater is said to be clean, they are easily contaminated by leaky contaminants, heavy metals and micro organisms.
Justine Audu, a water engineer, explained that pollutants dumped on the surface of the soil can sink through the soil and pollute the aquifer - the layer of rock or clay holding groundwater.
He called for standardised procedures to tackle the indiscriminate drilling of boreholes to avoid possible environmental calamity and urged government to provide portable water for the people.
Last year, the Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe, raised the alarm on the danger of indiscriminate drilling of boreholes in the country and the likely effect it could have on the environment, if the practice is not checked.
She said indiscriminate drilling of borehole may result in over abstraction of ground water which effects include, land subsidence, salt intrusion, aquifer depletion and water quality degradation amongst other environmental hazards.
The minister further explained that construction of boreholes indiscriminately was capable of causing earth tremor, stressing that underground water are linked, and if there is contamination in one borehole, it will contaminate other boreholes within the area with devastating effect on human health.
However, the only solution to this danger is for government to live up to its responsibility by providing an efficient public water system that will address the water need of the people.
Sadly the crisis in the water sector is as bad as the frustrating problems in the power sector which Nigerians have been grappling with.
Government needs to wake up to its responsibility by finding solutions to this impending danger.