By Mumini Abdulkareem
About one hundred and five thousand households in Ilorin will be connected to the city’s metropolitan water reticulation project at the completion of the project by the Kwara state government.
The General Manager, state Water corporation, Malllam Tunde Omoniyi Yahaya disclosed this while answering questions on a Radio Kwara news programme.
According to him, over thirteen thousand, five hundred (13,500) houses were initially connected to the project during the primary stage adding that the figure has risen to about forty eight thousand (48,000) households that now have access to portable water through the scheme in Ilorin metropolis.
He said the population of residents of Ilorin metropolis has increased to nearly five times compared with what it was few years ago which has attracted higher demand for portable water.
He said the water project which began in 2003 during the tenure of former Governor Bukola Saraki marked a period when the water demands of the people of Ilorin metropolis was just four million gallons of water per day.
The then treated water plant, he noted, was then pumping twelve million gallons prior the administration of Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed who later upgraded and rehabilitated the old plant to 13.5m gallons.
He said after the Federal Government’s intervention, the capacity was increased to 25.5m gallons/per day adding that water project is capital intensive and a continuous exercise that could not be completed by a particular administration.
Mallam Yahaya said for this type of project, the government was bound to face issues of pipe leakages which he said, were been repaired and replaced and therefore appealed to affected households yet to enjoy the facility to be patient as the government was doing everything possible to ensure that pipe borne water flows in all homes.
He expressed regrets that some of the water points are been vandalized and called on the various households to provide security for the equipment.
The General Manager disclosed that the present requirement per day for residents of Ilorin metropolis is about fifty million gallons per day and the capacity for treated water now is 25.5m gallons per day.
He however said the good news is that Asa Dam reservoir of untreated water has a capacity of forty eight million gallons. He said there is still room for expansion of the water project in the future by subsequent administrations.
Mallam Yahaya assured that other communities in the state are been taken care of explaining that the state water corporation has ninety four water works spread all over the state producing portable water for benefitting communities.
