Lagos residents now to buy water at kiosks

By ANDREW OJIEZEL

In a bid to bring portable water more accessible to residents, the Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Babatunde Adejare, on Tuesday said that the government would soon introduce Water Distribution Kiosk System, to optimise water supply in some parts of the state.

A statement signed by the Director, Public Affairs and Research in the Ministry, Mr Tunde Awobiyi, in Lagos, said that the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) would supervise the kiosk system.

“The government is appealing to the citizenry to bear with her, as they experience disruption of water supply in some parts of the state.

“It is caused by shortage in supply of gas to the Akute Independent Power Plant (IPP).

“The Water Distribution Kiosk will be a centralised water point to purchase potable water at a substantially cheaper rate, by the water vendors.

“It is an innovation in Nigeria, and is meant to complement the five-kilometre reticulation and the existing network,” the statement said.

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It urged Lagos residents to exercise patience on the supply of potable water.

According to the statement, the government is working tirelessly to get connected to the National Grid, to ensure that alternative power supply is restored to its power plants.

It also urged residents to promptly report the vandalism of water corporation power plants to the organisation.

The statement described the indiscriminate laying of water pipes across drains and the patronage of unlicensed and unapproved water vendors as unacceptable.

It described such practices as avenues for spreading water-borne diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea as well as increasing the mortality rate.