By YANGE IKYAA
The federal government at the weekend commissioned the Rehabilitated Nasarawa Water Supply Scheme in Nasarawa State.
The Governor of Nassarawa State, Abdulahi Sule, who was represented at the commissioning by his deputy, Emmanuel Akabe, said the project was initially conceived in 1985 as a result of flood disaster that affected the Nasarawa Water Scheme and eventually led to the stalemate of water production in Nasarawa Town.
This means that the project was abandoned ever since and has been overlooked by successive governments for 38 years.
According to him, the project will provide the needed enabling environment to improve living standards of the people and improve agricultural practices all through the irrigation season.
The minister of water resources, Suleiman Adamu, while conducting the exercise, pointed out that the provision of potable water and sanitation is the responsibility of the three tiers of government, hence the intervention of the federal government, through his ministry, in building and rehabilitating the water supply scheme.
According to the minister, the contractor was mandated to train operational staff of the Nasarawa State Water Board on various aspects of operating and maintaining the scheme for sustainability.
Speaking further, Engr Adamu informed that the scheme has a total design capacity of 3 million gallons per day and could serve over 200,000 residents in Nasarawa town and its environs.
While expressing gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for approving special funding towards the speedy execution of the “Emergency Rehabilitation of the Nasarawa Water Supply Project,” the minister noted that the contract for the scheme was satisfactorily carried out within the stipulated completion period of 24 months after it was awarded in May 2021.
He further stated that major elements of the work duly executed include the restoration of the riverbank embarkment through filing compaction, stone pitching, sloping and stabilization with gabion retaining wall.
Others include the installation of 2Nos raw water pumps, complete with all associated equipment; as well as the rehabilitation of the rapid gravity filter and necessary electro- mechanical equipment.
Also among them are the rehabilitation of clear water tank and electro-mechanical equipment, the installation of 3No high lift pumps and 2 Nos air blowers and backwash pumps, complete with all associated equipment, and the supply and installation of 500 KVA transformer and generating set, each including all necessary equipment.
Furthermore, there was the training of water board staff in the operation and maintenance of the rehabilitated treatment plant in order to ensure sustainability of the facilities for the state.
The minister also stated that the federal government’s intervention was not limited to the Nasarawa Water Supply Scheme, but that projects like the Farin Ruwa Water Supply Scheme and the completion of Farin Ruwa Dam and Accessories, in addition to numerous Water Supply Schemes constructed by Lower Benue River Basin Development Authority in form of constituency projects in rural areas were also financed by the federal government.
He therefore urged the Nasarawa State government to provide an enabling environment for its Water Board to perform optimally.
