Adam Umar
The FCT Water Treatment Plant is at risk of shutting down over shortage of chemicals needed to treat the raw water from the Usuman dam, Abuja Metro can report.
An investigation by Abuja Metro showed that only one of the four plants has been operating for the past few months owing to the unavailability of chemicals to purify the water.
The only functioning plant was on the verge of being closed when two trucks loaded with the chemicals arrived at the plant last week.
The situation, our reporter learnt, has forced the board to be rationing its services to consumers. This has consequently thrown some residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) into a water crisis.
Essential chemicals required for plant operations
When Abuja Metro visited the plant, some staff, who pleaded for anonymity, listed the three essential items that are required for the plant’s operation but have not been available to include chlorine, a powerful disinfectant used to kill harmful microorganisms like bacteria and viruses.
Others are Aluminum Sulphate (Alum), used to purify the water by causing suspended particles to clump together, as well as other chemicals used to regulate the water’s pH, taste, and odor.
An investigation by Abuja Metro had shown that the Abuja water treatment plant, popularly called Usuma Dam, has been short of these essential commodities for more than a year.
Sources who spoke to our correspondent said prior to the coming of the current FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, the contract for the chemical supply was previously handled at the FCT administration level.
Under that system, one of the sources said, commodities needed for an entire year would be supplied from Lagos and stocked in the four warehouses situated within the facility.
“But the present FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has since unbundled the system, as he has done with many other FCT agencies, and taken every contract directly into his office,” one of the sources disclosed.
He continued, “There are four water treatment plants at the Usuma Dam, but three of them had to be shut down recently, leaving only one to operate minimally, as there are no available chemicals on the ground.”
There was a plan to shut down the remaining plant as well, before a truck supply of one of the three essential chemicals arrived last week Monday, he added.
It was further gathered that two additional trucks, loaded with two different chemicals each, were supplied during the weekend.
Abuja Metro further leant that approximately 100 permanent staff, in addition to a number of casual workers, are now largely idle as a result of the development.
One staff member, who spoke to our reporter during the visit, noted that most personnel now merely sign their attendance register and leave the office at closing time, as they have nothing to work on.
“Apart from the personnel who operate directly at the four treatment plants, there are others who work at two existing laboratories attached to them. These laboratories used to carry out water analyses before and after production,” the staff member explained.
He continued, “This is to ensure that the raw water supply into the dam is uncontaminated, and that the treated water reaches its standard quality before being released to the public. I don’t think all these quality checks are possible with the meager supply of chemical commodities,” he added.
Water scarcity hits communities
As a result of the recent low water supply to Abuja communities, Abuja Metro gathered that the FCT Water Board has quietly embarked on a rationing exercise for the available treated water across the areas under its coverage. While some communities receive supply during their designated period, others spend days without the essential commodity.
Investigation by Abuja Metro indicated that apart from Wuse II and parts of Asokoro (the two traditional districts known for water scarcity), the recent problem has affected areas like Area 1, Area 2, and parts of Wuse district.
There are also districts within Phase II section of the city, including Apo and Galadimawa, that have been affected. The problem also affected communities outside the city centre like Kubwa, Jiwa, Gwagwa, and Karmo, as well as some estates along the Abuja-Zuba highway.
A resident of Karmo, Ahmad Shehu, said their area had not got water supply for over a week, leading to the skyrocketing cost of the commodity from the water vendors.
Nuelz Samuel, who lives in the Durumi area, said their community had been cut off from the water supply for almost a week.
Abubakar Jamilu, a resident of Zone 3 area, said as a result of the water rationing embarked upon by the FCT Water Board, they only get the supply for about two hours a day and wait till another day for the supply.
Even though there was a kind of improvement in the supply starting from last weekend, it was, however, gathered that some neighborhoods situated on high elevation in the affected communities are yet to witness the improvement, as such locations need a longer period of uninterrupted supply. As a result, many students and civil servants have to trek to far locations early in the morning in search of the essential commodity, a situation that makes many of them report to the school, or their places of work, late.
A week-long effort made by Abuja Metro to get the response of the FCT Water Board on the development did not yield a positive result, as its General Manager (GM), Daniel Salka, did not respond to the phone calls made to him on several occasions.
He was also said not to be on seat on three occasions that our reporter visited his office.
Also, a WhatsApp message sent to him was not responded to as at the time of filing this report yesterday.
Abuja Metro also visited the office of the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and Social Media to the FCT Minister, Lere Olayinka, for comments on two occasions but was said not to be on seat.
