Abia residents to enjoy potable water after 2 years of drought

The water scarcityin Abia State willsoon be a thing of the past, according to the General Manager, Abia State Water Board, Mr Felix Okonkwo.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt that potable water had long remained a scarce commodity in Abia, as all taps in the state dried up more than two years ago.While residents of Umuahia and Aba rely on sachet water and private bore-holes, those in the rural areas trek to the streams for their water needs.Most pathetic was that a scheme initiated by former President Shehu Shagari in 1981 at Ndi Oji Abam in Arochukwu Local Government Area of the state, is yet to be realised.Rural water schemes in the state have gone moribund due to neglect by successive administrations and this has exposed rural dwellers to unsafe sources of water.Okonkwo told NAN that the state government had taken a bold step to ensure residents of the state capital and beyond returned to the taps to fetch water.He attributed the scarcity of water in the state capital to the activities of vandals at the Umu Opara Regional Water Scheme, which he said, was the major source of water to the city.He said that the state governor was worried about the water challenges faced by residents and had ordered a holistic rehabilitation of the scheme.The general manager said: 'We have started pumping water in order to identify leakages and our men are repairing the damaged ones after which we will come with full force.'We want residents of the state to know that we can rehabilitate the water scheme.'They may have lost hope as a result of the situation, but we are assuring them that the promises made by the state governor will be fulfilled.'Okonkwo said that their target was to ensure that at least three water schemes across the state came back to life before the end of December.
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