Nigeria launches standard for drinking water quality

LAGOS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) — Nigeria on Thursday launched the Standard for Drinking Water Quality to promote the availability of safe drinking water for all citizens.
The availability of clean water supply was the focus of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, said at the launching ceremony in Abuja.
The standard sets limits for water contaminants that are hazardous to health and also provides guidelines for meeting the mandatory limits for safe water.
Quoting a World Health Organization (WHO) report, the minister said it was estimated that about 60 percent of all diseases in developing countries were related to consumption of unsafe water and poor sanitation.
Adamu said diseases related to drinking water contamination represented a major burden on national health care delivery.
He said Nigeria had made some progress in expanding the citizens’ access to improved water supply with the current access standing at 67 percent.
The minister however said it was saddening that not much had been achieved in respect of enforcement of standards, adding that water producers still operated without due regard to quality of water.
In 2005, the National Council on Water Resources recognized the need to produce a national standard for drinking water quality for the country.
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