AWDROP has agreed in a communique signed by Micheal Ale, AWDROP President, issued at the 4th National Borehole Practitioners Conference and Congress that water from all boreholes should undergo proper laboratory analysis to determine their qualities as specified by WHO standards for drinking water before use in order to tackle endemic circumstances like cholera disease.
The conference which was held from September 12 to 15 in Ibadan had over 250 participants from the borehole drilling practitioners and professional groups in attendance.
The association also stressed the need for government at all levels to formulate and enforce mandatory borehole drilling regulations in order to professionalise the borehole drilling sector, curb indiscriminate exploitation of groundwater as well as drastically reduce cases of abandoned wells.
The association further agreed on ensuring cost effective and sustainable groundwater resources development for hygiene and Sanitation Practice in Nigeria.
The communique reads, “In view of the hazardous health risk associated with pollutants and contaminants in groundwater resources, resulting from flooding and borehole drilling inefficacies, thus leading to endemic circumstance like cholera diseases, it has become pertinent that water from all boreholes should undergo proper laboratory analysis to determine their qualities as specified by WHO standards for drinking water before use.
“The impact and implication of climate change on socio-ecological activities of water resources has made it mandatory for Governments at all levels to formulate and enforce borehole drilling regulations and permits respectively. In order to: professionalise the borehole drilling sector with the resultant effect of eliminating quackery, curb indiscriminate exploitation of groundwater and destruction of social economic infrastructures, reduce drastically, cases of abandoned and unproductive wells and mitigate seismic movement and land substance.
“Ensuring cost effective and sustainable groundwater resources development for hygiene and Sanitation Practice in Nigeria, the document Code of Practice (COP) for water well construction NCP 027:2010,a guide to effective and successful borehole drilling, as approved by Federal Government (SON Governing Council) which is 10 year old, must be reviewed, so it can be in consonant with Best Suggested Practice for Borehole drilling Practitioner as approved by AWDROP National Executive Council.”
Other agreements reached at the conference as issued in the communique are, “All borehole projects from respective actors (Development Agencies, Government at all levels and Private organization) should involve the engagement of experience and Licensed borehole experts, Borehole Supervisory role of any personnel should be a Government licensed and COMEG registered professional, with an overriding validation of all boreholes (Water well) by skilled and Registered AWDROP member.
“AWDROP as an organization shall collaborate/partner with Governments at all level in order to establish National Water Supply Incidence Management Team (NWSIMT) in other to restore, rehabilitate and rejuvenate all dysfunctional boreholes facilities in endemic areas in Nigeria, in other to prevent the spread of cholera diseases in Nigeria.
“In order to produce an acceptable and proper National Water well (Borehole) records in AWDROP will henceforth mandate all REGISTERED members spread across states in Nigeria to keep records of all boreholes drilled, through the adoption of digital app and transmit same real time to AWDROP National DASHBOARD, on collaboration with National and State water resources to assist in groundwater resources development and policy enactment.
“AWDROP will collaborate with both local and international organizations in order to train and retrain borehole (Water well) practitioners in Nigeria, to enhance their capacity in designing standard and sustainable boreholes.
“To better professionalise borehole drilling and abstraction of groundwater in Nigeria, ‘BOREHOLE DRILLING AND GROUNDWATER DEVELOPMENT’ should be input into Geosciences Curriculum through NUC in all our tertiary institutions. Also, the Federal Government through the TETFUND should procure Drilling rig equipment for all Geology departments to enhance training of young geoscientists.”
