By Gbenga Ojikutu
Ekiti State Water and Sanitation Regulatory Agency (EK-WASRA) has commenced water quality tests and safety awareness campaigns across the State.
The State Commissioner for Infrastructure and Public Utilities, Prof. Mobolaji Aluko who made this known in Ado Ekiti during a stakeholders’ meeting on Water Tariff-Setting Guidelines.
He said the exercise was aimed at ensuring safety and health of residents, stressing the importance of proper regulation of the water sector to improving supply of potable water and also ensuring that only safe water is distributed to the people for consumption.
Reiterating the commitment of Governor Biodun Oyebanji administration to the general wellbeing of people in the State, Prof Aluko emphasised that Government is unwavering in its promise to ensure supply of safe and sufficient water to residents as well as facilitating the practice of hygiene to prevent avoidable infections including diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid and acute respiratory infections.
Speaking through EK-WASRA General Manager, Engr. Ayodele Osalade, Aluko said that water samples were randomly collected and checked for harmful substances such as zinc, iron, lead, turbidity, and other toxic substances that can be detrimental to health, adding that the test is to identify and treat any health threat as appropriate.
He assured residents that government would continue to provide relevant information to all stakeholders in line with its determination to protect all citizens from water-borne diseases and other preventable infections.
Stressing that the emphasis is to ensure adequate provision of potable water to people in the State, Aluko explained that the guidelines on tariff setting for water and sanitation services in the state were developed in conformity with the National and State Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Policy, 2020 to make provision of potable water and safe sanitation facilities affordable and sustainable.
According to him, the tariff setting guidelines would ensure sustainability, safety, availability, and allocation of water by assisting water and sanitation service providers to recover the costs of treatment, storage, and transportation to customers.
The State Chairman of the Association of Table Water Producers (ATWAP), Ekiti State Chapter, Oyaleke Ademola, stated that this development would help determine the quality of water to be sold to citizens in the state.
He suggested creating a platform to further deliberate and review the developed tariff-setting guidelines before translating them into policy.
