Hydrogeologists Urge National Assembly To Pass Water Resources Bill

Hydrogeologists have appealed to the National Assembly to expedite the passage of the National Water Resources Bill.

They said that its enactment would strengthen regulation and help address pollution and other challenges affecting the country’s water resources.

The experts spoke yesterday at the 37th International Conference of the Nigerian Association of Hydrogeologists (NAH), with the theme, “Sustainable Management”, in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

The immediate past president of NAH, Dr Martin Eduvie, said continued research into the treatment of contaminated water remained critical, stressing that the ultimate objective of research should not only be to identify problems but also to develop practical solutions.

“We are still carrying on with research. But I believe there will be a time when we’ll be able to treat these waters,” he said.

According to him, research should provide solutions that would enable communities to cope with difficult water conditions, particularly where alternative sources of safe water are limited.

“When you carry out research, it’s not just for you to find the problem, but also to get the solution,” he further said.

He noted that substantial resources were being invested in research to develop ways of helping communities adapt to existing environmental and water-related challenges, describing the process as building resilience.

“There is a lot of money being put into research so that we find a way of living with what we have. That is resilience. If this is the only available water we have, we have to build resilience because we must survive,” he added.

The expert also stressed the need for stronger regulations to prevent human activities from contaminating groundwater, particularly aquifers.

He said although there were existing water-related regulations and policies at both federal and state levels, the delay in passing the National Water Resources Bill had continued to limit effective regulation and enforcement.

“We have existing regulations and policies, both from the Federal Government and other state governments. However, the Water Bill that has been on the board for more than seven, eight years now has not been passed by the National Assembly,” he said.

He appealed to lawmakers to pass the bill urgently, arguing that doing so would provide a stronger legal framework to address water pollution and protect the country’s aquifers.

“People pollute the whole aquifers, for example, and there are no penalties,” he said, stressing that effective regulation was necessary to discourage activities capable of contaminating groundwater.

“I want to believe that regulation will be put in place. So I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the government, and most especially the National Assembly, that the National Water Resources Bill that has been pending for quite some time should be passed, so that most of these issues will be solved,” he said.

Also speaking on the purpose of the gathering, the National President of NAH, Mrs Fashe-Adam Francisca Hamanye, said the conference was designed to bring together stakeholders from different sectors of the water resources industry, including academia, industry, policymakers, students, and research institutes.

She said, “The purpose of this gathering is to bring all the stakeholders in water resources management, those in academia, those in industry, policymakers, students and research institutes.”

According to her, the conference would enable participants to “rub minds” and discuss critical issues affecting the northern part of the country, particularly the North-East, Borno and Yobe states, as well as Nigeria in general.

She stressed the importance of bringing together professionals and institutions with different expertise to examine the challenges confronting water resources management and identify sustainable solutions.

The conference is expected to facilitate knowledge sharing and strengthen cooperation among stakeholders towards improving the management and development of Nigeria’s water resources.