Lives of no fewer than four million residents around Goronyo in Sokoto and Kebbi states are being threatened by the fast shrinking Goronyo Dam. Report has it that the Dam has shrunk by almost 90 percent. The dam serves as the primary source of water for close to four million people in Sokoto and Kebbi states.
It is used for domestic use and irrigation purposes in the two affected states.
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State has sent a distress call to stakeholders around the Dam to urgently come together to save the situation, saying that the depletion of the dam’s water level is alarming.
“The reservoir of Goronyo Dam was constructed to hold one billion cubic meter of water but as we’ve seen today, the water in it is just about 100 million cubic meters.
“This has resulted in inadequate supply of water to our water board and in effect, we had to resort to rationing water to the people.
“Our farmers are also suffering because output from this year’s dry season farming will invariably be affected.
“We are urging all stakeholders, especially the Federal Government, to take the lead in rescuing this important dam considering the number of people that rely on its water for domestic use and income purposes.”
Managing Director of Sokoto Rima River Basin Development Authority, Engineer Buhari Bature had told the governor that the depletion of Goronyo Dam is the worst seen in the dam in over 25 years.
He attributed the problem to shortage of rainfall in 2017, climate change and lack of desilting of the dam, adding that the problem has affected water supply to water board and irrigation farming in Sokoto and Kebbi states. [myad]
