Avoiding imminent water supply shortage in FCT

Water is life, and the FCT Water Board, the government utility organisation saddled with the responsibility of providing safe, adequate and affordable water supply service to Abuja, can be said to be one of the best potable water providers not only in Nigeria but also across the sub-region.

Hence the growing agitation over the state of the fear of imminent water scarcity being experienced and which has triggered another round of panic among the residents in the Abuja City Centre and several satellite towns.

As 2026 rolled in, FCT residents were looking forward to improved services and nothing has prepared them for the ongoing water shortage and are now grappling with disruptions in water supply due to challenges mainly with the Lower Usuma Dam, located in Ushafa, Bwari Area Council of the FCT.

Lower Usuma Dam is a key water source for the city, located on the River Usuma, has a reservoir capacity of 120 million litres of raw, untreated water, and is crucial for supplying Abuja residents.

Some of the challenges facing the FCT Water Board include the non-desilting of the Lower Usuma Dam, which unfortunately has never been done since its inception during the 1980s.

Also, the non-transfer of raw water from Gurara Dam, which hitherto had been done on a monthly basis, has dwindled to once a year, and since October 2025 there has been no transfer of potable water, therefore in terms of volume of water, the dam is currently operating at half its capacity.

Another tragedy is that water from the Lower Usuma Dam that is meant for the Water Treatment Plants, which are integral to the production and distribution of potable water across Abuja and its environs, is currently being diverted by the SCC, thus reducing the plants required capacity.

It is very likely that this present water crisis will deepen as a result of the inefficiency of the plants, which are currently producing below their installed capacity, the contract was awarded for their rehabilitation to Messrs SCC Nigeria Limited.

Again, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), for the first time in history, has pitched the Lower Usuma Dam into darkness due to the what it described as the non-payment of utility bill to it by the FCT Administration, similarly, AEDC has already commenced disconnection of electricity to other critical FCT facilities like the Bwari General Hospital.

In a bid to recover their money, AEDC had disconnected them from power source, thereby making it impossible for the Lower Usman Dam to operate.

After the electricity supply was disconnected early this year, the FCT Water Board resorted to powering the turbines at the Lower Usuma Dam with two diesel-powered generators but the generators cannot effectively power the turbines, one of which has already packed up, thus reducing the production of potable water to less than 40% presently.

So, insecurity as a result of this lack of electricity is worrisome to residents of Bwari where the Lower Usuma Dam is located, despite the presence of the SSS, there is palpable fear that the days of kidnapping, experienced within the axis in the not distant past, would rear its ugly head again.

Other challenges of the Board include water treatment chemicals are now being supplied, hitherto in bulk, in bits by contractors who do not follow the ethics of water treatment procedure.

Due to inadequacy, there is imminent shutdown of potable water supply in the FCT, as two treatment plants remain in use. Nonetheless, there is fear of imminent supply disruptions, since rationing of water is now the norm in areas like Life Camp, Gwarinpa, Garki, Wuse 1 and 2, and Apo.

The FCT Minister ought to be reminded that water supply are important parts of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and adequate water supply is as essential as good roads.

The question now remains, who will solve the untold hardships being suffered by FCT residents arising from irregular water shortages and FCT water board’s challenges so that Abuja residents would have a relief?

Aliyu H. Abubakar wrote from Garki, Abuja

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