A visit by The Nation to the community revealed that the some of the water from these sources have very strong smell of petrol while others have very strong smell of chemicals which cannot be ascertained.
“The water smells, it has been like this for two years.
It started with the well before it got into the boreholes.
Before, we use our borehole water for everything but everything have changes, we have to collect water for rain or go to other communities that are not affected to fetch water to use.
Even if you use the water for washing clothes, the smell comes out strong on the clothes.” Elisha Jiya of Dazhiworo compound said that it got two of his younger brothers coming down with typoid twice a month for his family to stop drinking the water adding that they suspect the source of the problem is from the underground tanks of a filling station which is located with the neighborhood because of the strong smell of petrol in the waters.
He lamented that the management of the station had denied it but disclosed that laboratory tests carried out by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources regional water quality laboratory revealed that that the preliminary odour, color and taste tested showed that the waters are contaminated with petrol while the dissolved oxygen is unsatisfactory.
We need this issue to be addressed urgently.
They should go and find the source of their contaminated water and stop putting the blame on us.
” She confirmed that DPR had carried out test of some of the waters and showed the Reporter a letter written to them by DPR absolving them from any fault but when shown the water drawn from one of the affected wells, she claimed it was not the water.
Efforts made to get to the Commissioners of Environment and Health proved abortive as moves made to get an official response to steps taken as regarding the letter received about the contamination of water from the Commissioner, Permanent Secretary and PRO were unsuccessful.