WaterAid Nigeria urged Govt. to explore clean water from groundwater
By Ahmed AHMED
An international Non-Governmental organisation WaterAid Nigeria in collaboration with the British Geological Survey (BGS) has urged the government at levels to explore clean water from groundwater.
Our correspondent reports that new research reveals that most African countries have enough groundwater reserves to face at least five years of drought,
Oluseyi Abdulmalik, Communications and Media Manager of WaterAid Nigeria stated this in a statement to Mark the 2022 world water day made available to Journalists in Bauchi.
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The statement said research by WaterAid and the British Geological Survey (BGS) produced a series of maps that chart current access to drinking water across Africa and drought resilience based on potential useable groundwater at the national level.
“Groundwater could provide a buffer against climate change for many years to come, even in the unlikely event that it doesn’t rain.
“But gross underinvestment in services to get the water out of the ground and to those who need it most and untapped or poorly managed resources means millions of people don’t have enough safe,
“Clean water to meet their daily needs, let alone face the impacts of the climate crisis, WaterAid and BGS warn in a new report,” the statement said.
According to the statement, Dr Evelyn Mere, WaterAid Nigeria Country Director said: “The potential of groundwater can only be realised if we overcome the complex global problems around accessing it.
Groundwater is an invisible resource, so tapping it, particularly in places where it is harder to get to, relies on knowledge about the geology beneath our feet.
“The quantity and quality of the groundwater also vary, and in some areas, we simply don’t know how much there is or its suitability.
But such exploration is expensive.
Pockets of shallow groundwater in Enugu can also be contaminated and only available for part of the year.
“By contrast, it is much easier to find suitable locations to drill boreholes in Jigawa State, Nigeria, as the rocks underground store large quantities of water.it said.
The statement also Professor Alan MacDonald, BGS Groundwater Resilience Lead, said: “Groundwater is nature’s water reservoir, and a key resource to help the world adapt to climate change.
It’s widely available, controlled by natural variation in geology, but is out of sight beneath our feet.
“To unlock the great potential of groundwater, we need the right investment in expertise to map groundwater, drill sustainable wells and find ways to maintain and manage water resources and services,” it said.
