Musa Na Allah Sokoto
Efforts to boost potable drinking water to Sokoto metropolis and its environs by the state water board are being shattered by the wanton activities of vandals in the state.
The General Manager, Sokoto State Water Board, Engineer Ismaila Umar Sanda disclosed this to Stallion Times in Sokoto.
He said the nefarious activities of suspected vandals have been given the water agency a sleepless night, adding that it had acquired a giant new 500 KVA generator to complement erratic power supply to state waterworks from the national grid to boost supply amidst vandalization activities.
He said a lot of modalities has been put in place to increase the volume of potable drinking water supplied to the citizen of the state in the current fasting period and beyond.
The new Perkins brand generator when installed would increase the volume of water storage as well as the pumping capacity of Guiwa waterworks which have been working at a low capacity due to epileptic power supply from the national grid, he added.
“The Agency has suffered so much from the activities of vandals who tempered with our network of pipes from the treatment plant along Kware road and that of Runjin Sambo area in the state metropolis.
“Two suspected vandals were recently apprehended after vandalizing cables and other electrical parts of the Asare water treatment plant along Wamakko road.
“It’s sad to note that these criminals dug out our pipes laid underground at night and removed iron chambers,” the GM said.
According to him, the agency had so far drilled seven boreholes around the Sokoto metropolis as an effort is being intensified to increase the number to 10 as part of measures put in place to bring more water to communities around the metropolis.
He said two persons suspected to be involved in vandalizing the State Water Board’s treatment and processing components in various locations of the state have been arrested.
Engineer Sanda said the activities of the suspects have caused an acute shortage in the supply of drinking water to the teaming people of the state.
Umar said the activities of Vandals have affected water supply facilities affected at Hayin Gidan Kwano water intakes and pumping water components at Asare water treatment plant.
Other facilities destroyed and carted away include water supply cables connecting eight functional boreholes at Asare and pipelines supplying water at Runjin Sambo and Kware water intakes.
He stated that the activities of the suspects had hindered the services of the board in providing adequate and portable drinking water to other parts of the state.
He however commended the various Communities in the state for their continuous monitoring of water facilities stationed in their localities against Vandals.
