The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) says it has commenced a mass disconnection of all illegal water connections to its water lines to save about N400 million which it loses in the territory.
The general manager of FCT Water Board, Engr Tauheed Amusan, made this known in Abuja during an end-of-year briefing with journalists at the weekend.
Amusa lamented that while a huge amount of money was being spent on maintaining all major sources of water supply, including the lower Usuma Dam and trunk lines, certain individuals and organisations had continued to break its pipes and engaged in illegal connections.
He also said the lower Usuma Dam, which is the major source of water supply in Abuja, can generate 20,000 cubic litres of water per hour, but only about 15,000 to 16,000 cubic litres were being pushed out.
According to him, regardless of the efforts the government makes to subsidise water supply, some individuals and organisations do not want to pay.
“One of the challenges we have is a lot of illegal connections in our trunk loops. Abuja’s water system is designed to deliver treated water through the tanks, but we have a situation where some people are connected to the trunks before it gets to the tanks.
“This compromises what we have in the tank. We are gradually disconnecting these illegal connections. When we do that, the tanks will be better and we will be able to deliver water to various destinations. There are also the challenges of leakages, vandalisation, and many more,” he stated.
