Lagos State Govt calls for calm as water scarcity worsens

As the scarcity of water in Lagos State worsens, the state government has urged residents to remain calm as it is working hard to ensure that it delivers 773 million gallons of water a day by 2020.

The call comes just as several communities including the state capital, Ikeja, have been without water for over a week.

It was learnt that the cost of water being sold by vendors had risen.

According to a report by New York-based media company, Bloomberg, the Lagos State Water Corporation’s current capacity is 210 million gallons of water a day compared with the 540 million gallons needed by Lagosians.

The 210 million gallons of water can only meet the demand of seven million Lagosians out of the over 20 million residents.

However, the Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Babatunde Adejare, said in a statement on Monday that the challenges would soon come to an end.

He said the government understood the hardship Lagosians face every day over the scarcity of water.

Adejare attributed the challenge to technical hitches and explained that efforts were being made to address them.

“The state government is on top of the situation and I can assure residents of the state that before the week runs out, they will begin to enjoy regular water supply. The Lagos Water Corporation is working round the clock to address the technical hitches and we need to get it right once and for all,” Adejare said.

Credit: Punch