21st March, 2011
As the World Water Day is marked tomorrow, the Lagos State Water Corporation has set a target of supplying 733 million gallons of water per day to the Lagos metropolis.
This is part of its master plan for Lagos by 2020 when the United Nations Habitat projected that the population of the state would hit over 29 million, making it one of the largest mega cities in the world.
As part of activities marking the occasion, Group Managing Director, Lagos Water Corporation, Shayo Holloway, disclosed that by 2020, water demand of Lagos State per day would rise to 733 million gallons.
He said that the state government had already fashioned out a blueprint towards meeting the demand by that year and ought to exceed it by 20 million gallons of water per day.
Presently, he said water demand of Lagos State is 500 million gallons per day, while the corporation is currently supplying 200 million gallons of water to the metropolis per day, leaving a deficit of 300 million.
“With our master plan, we have made allowance to exceed the demand of water in Lagos State by 2020 by 20 million gallons of water per day,†he said, adding that with the inauguration of the Iju and Adiyan Independent Power Plant, production of water in the metropolis had increased drastically.
According to Holloway, the Iju and Adiyan Macro Water Scheme supplied about 90 per cent of the water consumed in Lagos and that plans were on to rehabilitate the water works to make them produce at optimum capacity.
He disclosed that in the last four years, the corporation had been able to construct 15 new mini water works with installed capacity of two million gallons of water per day each and reticulation of five kilometres each, adding that each mini water works could serve 500 homes at a time.
Holloway said the mini water works were located in areas such as Magodo, Mende, Isheri-Osun, Ajegunle, Ajamgbadi, Meiran, Ikorodu, Badore, Ojokoro, Ikate, Mosan-Okunola and Oshodi.
He added that the proposed construction of Ita-Ikosi Water Works would supply four million gallons of water per day to 11 communities in the area.
“To meet the water demand of the state, we have commenced an engineering design to work on the expanding Adiyan Water Works phase II to add another 70 million gallons, bringing it to a total of 140 million gallons of water per day.
“This second phase will further strengthen water supply in the metropolis. The Odomola Water Works in Epe has a capacity of 210 million gallons of water per day and is to be constructed in three phases.
“It is expected to serve the entire of Epe, Lekki, Victoria Island and Ikoyi; consequently, Iju and Adiyan Water Works will now focus on the Mainland.
