A hydrologist, Mr Uchenna Eziechi, has advocated for enactment of law to regulate indiscriminate drilling of boreholes.
Eziechi, Project Manager, Olive Well Water Company Limited, spoke on Tuesday in Abuja ,in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He decried indiscriminate drilling of boreholes, adding that it is unscientific and could expose the nation’s underground water resources to contamination.
“It is pertinent to note that drilling of any kind is a serious business, therefore, the government is expected to come up with regulations on how best to checkmate the activities of drillers, especially quacks.
“I therefore call on the government, relevant agencies to come up with ideas for the National Assembly to enact laws that will help us in the protection and conservation of the underground water,” he said.
According to him, excessive water extraction through borehole drilling or well digging causes numerous adverse effects on underground water hydrology.
Eziechi noted that excessive borehole drilling exposes the upper aquifer which allows intrusion of waste water into the deep water aquifer thereby causing underground water contamination.
He said not many drillers knew the consequences of drilling, noting that a lot of problems occur due to over extraction.
“It automatically depletes the water in some areas of the country and negatively affect the local biodiversity.
“We are very lucky in this part of the world; we are not prone to earthquakes and some other natural disaster.
“But some of these excesses expose us to such natural occurrences, notwithstanding, there must be a serious regulation by the authorities just like is done in developed and some developing countries, ours cannot be an exception,” he said. (NAN)