“Importance of Potable Water Stressed”

AllAfrica.com - July 27, 2004

by Ademola Adeyemo
Ibadan, Oyo

Thousands of Nigerians die every year as a result of diseases associated with drinking of unsafe water, a water engineer, Michael Ale has said.

Ale, a member of the World Water Council, the body charged with the development of water, while speaking with journalists in Ibadan, lamented that Nigeria is yet to set in motion plans to reduce the number of people without access to safe water and good sanitation by the year 2015, a goal set by the United Nation's body.

According to Ale, nearly all the satchet water, bottled
water and public water boreholes constructed by government are unsafe.

Said he, "most of our so called potable water are only being treated with chlorine and alum, which are not enough to make them safe for drinking, they still carry micro bial contamination which is dangerous to human health."

He said, water contains a lot of contaminations, such as mercury, titanium and fluorine, which are toxins in human blood and can cause cancer if not removed.

He lamented that even NAFDAC, which is an official body charged with approving sachet and bottled water did not have the right professionals, capable of recommending safe water for the public.

"What NAFDAC has are pharmacists who man its laboratory, they don't have qualified water engineers and scientists trained to ensure the safety of water being consumed by the people."

Ale described water management in Nigeria as very poor, and suggested that in providing water dams and
boreholes, government should also provide good purification gadgets and should de-emphasise provision of only alum and chlorine, "because these products cannot ensure safe water."

SOURCE:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200407270480.html