The Lagos State government says it is looking to meet resident’s water needs by 2020, as work has continued in the on-going 70 million gallons per day Adiyan Waterworks, Phase Two project in Oke-Aro.
The State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola, on Tuesday, inspected the works and told reporters that his administration had moved from the short term plan, which involved building micro- waterworks to resuscitating some old ones, to the medium term execution.
“The plan is that, hopefully, by 2020 we should be able to meet the water needs of Lagosians”.
Describing the Adiyan Waterworks project as the third major waterworks intervention in Lagos, the Governor pointed out that his administration started with the micro- waterworks to resuscitate some of those built by past governors of the State, to get them to full optimisation and to add more as a short plan in the first term.
“This is the medium-term plan in the second term.
“The long term plan is to have more of these now being built with partnership with the Private Sector to deliver more of this. And so this is direct funding; but the long term plan is that we will make at least two or three more of this type to be able to meet the water demand of Lagosians,” he said.
The first major waterworks intervention in Lagos was the Iju Waterworks which was built in 1910 and after that, there was no other major intervention until 1991 when the Adiyan Waterworks was first built.
“That was a long time of almost a century, and the population continues to grow,” Governor Fashola said.
The Governor, who had earlier handed over a total of 31 classrooms in two government schools in Ifako-Ijaiye and Iju-Ishaga, expressed satisfaction with the progress of water at the site, saying it was an indication of readiness by the contractors to work even at night.
“You can see the progress that is being made. We have just been shown the treatment plant, the filtration and the sedimentation and also the work going on in the main reservoir tanks where the concrete walls and foundations are being laid. So it is work in progress,” he said.
According to the Governor, “Apart from the micro-waterworks and mini-waterworks that we have had, this is the third major intervention.
Governor Fashola, however, said provision of water alone is never the answer, pointing out that there is also the need to conserve the water.
“Like all utilities, you can never over-supply water. So there must be adequacy of supply, minimisation of waste, conservation and the right economics to be able to ensure that the project and the utility pays for itself and delivers on expectation,” he said.