The Kwara State Government says 105,000 houses in Ilorin will be connected under its tertiary water reticulation initiative.

Prof.  Suleiman Adeyemi, the consultant in charge of the water reticulation project, made this known on Friday, July 13, 2018 in Ilorin, the state capital, while briefing newsmen on the status of the initiative.

He said N6.54 billion was spent on both the primary and secondary reticulation project, while N1.9 billion was budgeted for the tertiary reticulation.

Adeyemi listed the achievements of the project to include doubling the treatment capacity from 27,000 sqm to 105, 000 per day and construction of 4, 900per hour high and low lift pump.

He also cited the construction of 39 km new transmission, 44.15 km of principal distribution network and 26.75 km of secondary and tertiary distribution network.

The consultant, however, appealed to the people of the state to cooperate with the government in its effort to make water available in all the nooks and crannies of the state.

He added that the water project was not limited to Ilorin alone, adding that the project was going on in all the three senatorial districts of the state.

Adeyemi added that the various water works across the state were also undergoing rehabilitation to make water available to the people.

By Abiodun Esan

The Director, Irrigation and Drainage, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Dr Elijah Aderibigbe, has assured that the Federal Government will complete all abandoned water projects in the country.

Aderibigbe told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday, July 13, 2018 that the step was necessary to see that previous investments in the sector would not be a waste.

According to him, huge sums of money have been invested in some projects, as their completion would be beneficial to all Nigerians.

He, however, noted that some projects had been phased out, as completing them would amount to economic waste, saying the present hectares in the country stood at 70,000.

‘‘The present administration is continuing from where the previous administration stopped, this means that we are not embarking on any new project for now.

‘‘We are looking at those projects that are near completion, we are looking at those ones that were abandoned and had reached advanced stages.

‘‘We are revisiting them; the Federal Government is providing money.

‘‘We have called the contractors back to site, so that the benefits will be enjoyed by all Nigerians, especially where the projects are sited.’’

The director said schemes such as the Mamu-Akwa in Anambra State and Sabke Irrigation project in Katsina State had been completed and handed over to the primary users through the river basins.

He said efforts were ongoing to convert the schemes in two sources of energy and to also see that issues of sustainability when it comes to operation and maintenance were settled.

According to Aderibigbe, the Shagari Irrigation project in Sokoto State is almost completed.

He said that some projects that were abandoned since the time of Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) were being resuscitated to see that Nigerians benefit from the water infrastructure.

He commended the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for giving its blessings toward meeting the Revised Estimated Total Cost need for some abandoned projects through priority of attention.

He said irrigated agriculture practice was fast becoming an important sector in the economy.

According to him, this is not surprising because most of the populace rely on agriculture and agro-related activities for their livelihoods.

He, however, added that other benefits of irrigated agriculture include the value chain addition through marketing and transportation in food production.

‘‘The benefits are enormous, even under a farmer, many would be employed when irrigated agriculture works,’’ he added.

He urged Nigerians to take ownership of all water utilities, saying participatory irrigation concept would help to promote sustainability of projects.

He director advised the Water Users Association to play a huge role in maintaining water facilities.

By Tosin Kolade

Municipal Workers in Western Japan struggled on Friday, July 13, 2018 to restore water supplies, a week after floods caused by a record downpour killed more than 200 people in the worst such disaster in 36 years.

Communities that grappled with rising floodwaters now find themselves battling scorching summer temperatures, well above 30 degrees Celsius (86°F), as foul-smelling garbage piles up in mud-splattered streets.

“We need the water supply back,’’ said Hiroshi Oka, 40, a resident helping to clean up the Mabi district in one of the hardest-hit areas, the city of Kurashiki, where more than 200,000 households have gone without water for a week.

“What we are getting is a thin stream of water and we can’t flush toilets or wash our hands,” he added, standing over a 20-litre (4.4-gallon) plastic tank that was only partly filled after almost four hours of waiting.

Water has been restored to some parts of the district, a city official told Reuters, but he did not know when normal operations would resume, as engineers were trying to locate pipeline ruptures.

More than 70,000 military, police and firefighters have fanned out to tackle the aftermath of the floods.

There have been 204 deaths, the government said, with dozens missing.

Large piles of tatami straw mats, chairs and bookcases could be seen all over Mabi.

The smell of leaded gasoline, mixed with a sour smell of mud and debris, filled the air.

The weather has fuelled concerns that residents, many still in temporary evacuation centres, may suffer heat stroke or illness as hygiene levels deteriorate.

Shizuo Yoshimoto, a doctor making the rounds at evacuation centres, said an urgent challenge was to bring necessary drugs to patients with diabetes and high blood pressure, who were forced from their homes or whose clinics are closed.

“There are quite a few cases where patients are unable to get drugs.

“So, one issue is how to maintain treatment for those with chronic illness. Another is acute illness, as heatstroke is on the rise,’’ he said.

Public broadcasters, NHK, has spread advice on coping with high temperatures and maintain hygiene, such as a video tutorial on how to make a diaper from a towel and plastic shopping bag.

Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, urged people in flood-hit areas to guard against thunderstorms.

“People still need to be aware of the possibility of further landslides,’’ he told reporters.

Severe weather has increasingly battered Japan in recent years, including similar floods last year that killed dozens of people, raising questions about the impact of global warming.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who cancelled a scheduled overseas trip to deal with the rescue effort, visited Kurashiki on Thursday and said he aimed to visit other flood-damaged areas on Friday and over the weekend.