During Goje administration constructed and commissioned the Gombe Regional Water Supply Scheme at the cost of N8.2billion. The water project currently supplies water to the state capital and 15 other towns and villages. Long before the water plant was built, water hawking was a fixture in Gombe. According to Audu Nurah, a resident of Gombe, the biggest problems of Gombe before the Dadinkowa project were water, water and water. Located in Dadinkowa, 43 kilometres away from Gombe, the water plant is said to be one of the best in West Africa. Marshall Usman, assistant director of the project, said: This plant can compete with any of its kind anywhere in the world. Though the various components of the water scheme are located in Dadinkowa, two reservoirs were constructed in Gombe and it is from these that water is pumped for distribution to the 16 communities. The design concept of the water plant, according to Usman, is in two phases. The first phase, which is currently in operation, at full capacity, can produce five million litres of water per day. The second phase, which is expected to commence operation by 2025, when the population of Gombe would have increased greatly, is to accommodate 70,000 cubic metres. The water system is designed in such a way that it can be operated either manually or electronically. If there is any electronic problem, we can switch to the manual mode, Usman explained. Undeniably, the Dadinkowa water scheme has wiped tears off the faces of residents of Gombe and environs. Kayode Adedoyin, a Gombe-based mechanic, told TheNEWS that a lot of money went into the purchase of water for human, commercial and domestic purposes in those dark days. What Kayode forgot to say is that, the provision of clean, potable water has reduced to the barest minimum the prevalence of water- borne diseases. This is not to say that Dadinkowa water scheme has solved all the water problems of the whole state. Aware of this, the Goje administration constructed township water schemes in Kumo, Dukku and Filiya. Currently, the government is constructing new water schemes at Bojude, Pindiga and Boh. In like manner, other small towns and villages had their water supply schemes rehabilitated, particularly in the three senatorial districts. To augment the water schemes, 300 boreholes were sunk in several rural areas. Hand pumps/boreholes were provided in primary schools, rural communities and primary health centres in the 10 local numbers.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 22:09:51 +0000
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