Water Issues in Nigeria

by tuftsigl
Jan 09

Written by Ajay Ramnani, EPIIC 2014

 

Jan 8: Today I visited a manufacturing plant in Ajao Estate, Nigeria to find out about industrial water methods. The plant I visited extracts its water requirement from groundwater via a borehole. I collected samples and will carry out chemical testing on these samples when back in Boston. After visiting this plant, I went to Lagos Market to explore wastewater disposal techniques in densely populated areas. The market was very chaotic and I got confronted by an angry stall merchant who didn’t appreciate me taking pictures of his workplace. After some discussion we peacefully resolved our issues and went our separate ways.

 

Jan 9: Today I visited a recycling plant in Ikeja, Nigeria to explore its water sourcing and disposal techniques. The plant also uses borehole methods to extract water and despite being visibly dirty, many of the factory workers in fact consume this water.

Once used, the water gets disposed of directly into the sewer. I collected samples to analyze how contaminated this wastewater is. Traffic in Nigeria is horrendous; it took 2 hours to travel a very short distance each way. Luckily, I was in an air conditioned car. Otherwise, the sweltering heat would have been unbearable.

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