Expert calls for the development of water resources
Oru Leonard
The Director of Physical Planning and Project Management at the University of Ibadan, Dr Sunday Olufemi Adesogan, has called on the government to pay attention to the nation’s water resources development for sustainable living to be realised.
He made the call in a Faculty Lecture that he delivered at the Faculty of Technology.
His lecture was entitled “Water as the Engine of Life Sustainability”
Dr Adesogan, a Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering, stated that water is essential for life saying that without water, human beings can not survive.
According to him, if sustainable development is to be achieved, there must be the possibility of enhancing the availability of high quality water supplies which will involve the development of innovative biological, chemical and physical treatment processes to meet the growing demand for water.
Dr Adesogan said the transportation of water and remediation of potentially harmful contaminants and their by-products must be adequately taken care of.
He stated that water quality can be affected by rampant industrialization and the disposal of chemicals in water and the atmosphere.
He said poor water quality affects the quality of the food crops and may also cause many diseases adding that water contamination is the main reason for food contamination and illnesses related to the contamination.
Dr Adesogan therefore, advised that wholesome water must be free from pathogens, free from colour, odour and turbidity, be cool and tasty, not corrode pipes and devoid of all objectionable matter.
The Faculty lecturer recommended that there must be sincerity in government’s efforts to provide healthy water, researches in water resources must be properly funded, and there should be proper enforcement of policies and eradication of corruption.
He concluded that if sustainable development is to be achieved, there must be the possibility of enhancing the availability of high quality water supplies.
“The abandonment of the water resources development in the pursuit of industrialization is a great mistake in the theory of modernisation” he said.
