March 14, 2018

The Sokoto State Government has released N510 million to address the problem of water shortage facing the people of the state.

Governor Aminu Tambuwal made this known when he inspected the water levels at Goronyo Dam which, experts said, have depleted by over 90 per cent.

Tambuwal said that the money would be spent on the provision of water treatment chemicals, equipment maintenance, settlement of electricity bills and provision of gas, among other facilities, to ensure effective water distribution.

He said that strategies would be devised to tackle the current water scarcity challenges facing the Sokoto metropolis and some major towns across the state.

The governor, after inspecting the dam, said that the depletion of the dam’s water level was quite alarming.

“The reservoir of Goronyo Dam was constructed to hold one billion cubic metres of water but as we’ve seen today, the water in the dam is just about 100 million cubic metres.

“This has resulted in inadequate water supply to the water board and in effect, we had to resort to rationing water supply to the people.

“We have, however, adopted proactive measures to boost water supply to the people, pending when the rains will come and increase the volume of water in the dam.

“I have directed the state water board to immediately reactivate 12 boreholes in the Sokoto metropolis and build additional ones to supplement what we get from other sources,” he said.

Tambuwal urged residents to be more patient, as efforts were underway to find lasting solutions to their water supply problems.

He, nonetheless, urged them to economise their use of water and stop wasting water “because it is a precious commodity.

“We are doing everything possible to overcome these challenges,” he added.

The governor, however, appealed to religious and community leaders to pray for early rainfall in the state this year.

Mr Buhari Bature, the Managing Director of Sokoto Rima River Basin Development Authority, while conducting the governor round the dam site, said that the water depletion in the dam was the worst ever experienced in the last 25 years.

He attributed the problem to factors such as the shortage of rainfall in 2017, climate change and the non­­­­­-desilting of the dam.

Bature said that the problem had affected water supply to the state water board as well as irrigation farming in Sokoto and Kebbi states.