The Senate on Tuesday urged its Committee on Water Resources to engage the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to ascertain reasons behind the abandonment of the greater Awka water scheme by the ministry.
It also urged the committee to explore possibility of commencing the project and report back to Senate in four weeks.
The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Sen.Uche Ekwunife (PDP Anambra) on the need to complete the abandoned Greater Awka Water Scheme by Federal Ministry of Water Resources.
Ekwunife in her lead debate said that the greater Awka water scheme in Anambra state started by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources had been abandoned since 2006.
According to her, nothing has been heard about the project since then.
She said the project was an extension of the greater Enugu water scheme which had since been completed and commissioned.
She noted that the initial progress was made in areas of preparation of Bill of Engineering Measurement and Evaluation (BEME) of which communication was made to Anambra government on the acquisition of land for Well Field at Amansea.
This, according to her, was archived after a successful hydro geological survey before the unexplained abandonment of the whole project.
She said worried by the abandonment of the project, the people who were supposed to be beneficiaries of the water scheme were still drinking from untreated boreholes and natural streams.
This, she said was leading to several cases of periodic outbreak of water born disease epidemics and resulting in unnecessary loss of lives especially among children.
She said given the weak geological formation of Anambra state, indiscriminate drilling of private boreholes in such rock formation posed a very serious danger of earth tremor within and around the region.
“These ground water sources come with high acidity of PHZ to 4 as against World Health Organization (WHO) acceptable standard of PH 6.5 to 9.5.
“This PH level has the ability of dissolving iron, lead and other dangerous carcinogenic heavy metals into drinking water leading to serious health complication and implications.”
In his remark, President of the Senate, Ahmad lawan, also advocated the intervention to include the provisions inherent in the water bill when passed. (NAN)
