The Kwara State Ministry of Water Resources has warned that the activities of fish farmers around the Asa Dam river may truncate water supply to the citizens.
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According to the government, the Asa Dam reservoir is not meant for fishing activities but a drastic measure to save the people of the Ilorin metropolis and surrounding settlements from an erratic water supply.
To this end, the government said it would meet with the fish farmers to find a lasting solution to the issue this week.
According to a statement by the Commissioner for Water Resources, Wahab Femi Agbaje, the dam reservoir “is solely for raw water impoundment.”
The statement read in part, “We are scheduled to meet with fish farmers working around the Asa Dam waterworks later this week over persistent damage to the water infrastructure. The damage being done to the waterworks through the activities of the fish farmers may soon truncate water supply to most part of Ilorin metropolis, if not curbed.
“Fishing activities and discharge of the effluent from these activities have been the order of the day over the past years. The effluent discharge has now reached a situation whereby our treatment plant could not cope with it anymore. This requires a drastic measure to save the populace of Ilorin metropolis and surrounding settlements from erratic supply of water.”
The Kwara State Chairman of the Fish Farmers Association, Sulyman Buhari, said the government needed to be very careful.
“Fish farming activities have been going on around the axis for a very long time. I think the government should be very critical about its decision because the decision might lead to a serious economic issue in the state.
“I don’t think the activities of the farmers is causing havoc to the water but there is a need to explore how to properly channel the water in such a way that it will not cause much damage to the consumable water in the dam,” he stated.
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