Water scarcity hits Enugu as FG contractor destroys plant

Water supply to most parts of the Enugu, has been disrupted leading to scarcity particularly in the GRA, Government House, Trans-Ekulu and other parts of the capital city which used to have 24-hour regular water supply from the intake of Iva Water Work.

The destruction was allegedly caused at the excavation site of Reynolds Construction Company (RCC), at Akama- Ngwo from where the company sources sand for construction of federal roads in Enugu State.

It was learnt that the Iva Water work, the oldest water supply source, to Enugu metropolis was built by the colonial government in 1924.

The Federal Controller of Works in Enugu State, Olufemi Oyekanmi referred our correspondent to the construction company for reaction to the incident, but RCC Public Relations Officer of RCC, Emmanuel Onah refused to speak with newsmen having insisted that it was the federal ministry that should speak to the press on the matter.

The Managing Director of Enugu State Water Corporation (ENSWC), Martin Okwor who spoke to newsmen said that Iva site was one of their most reliable sources of water supply to Enugu, built in 1924 and upgraded in 1952.

Okwor said that it was from the intake source that it supplied water to the fire service and equally took water to government house on emergency.

He said: “Throughout this rainy season we’ve been packing sands here trying with some blocks to make it appear higher, but all those efforts are not working because the damage is massive. It’s not as if there is any intention of the state government or its agencies to deny water to any part of Enugu community but it’s an environmental problem that was not caused by us.

“We are surprised that a company like RCC, if it’s them, could embark on such environmental activity without first doing an environmental impact assessment. That could have identified that we have a water scheme here and this could be the resultant effect,” he said.

Okwor said that the solution to the problem is that the corporation would go back to the site for proper engineering analysis to ascertain what to do next.

However, Special Adviser to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi on Water Resources, Dubem Onyia Jnr said that the state government through the Ministry of Works has contacted RCC to know if the company did environmental impact assessment before the excavation activity.

Onyia added that the state government was exploring other water supply alternatives to the coal city to get a temporal solution to the problem till after the rains.

(Daily Sun)