How borehole, well water can be contaminated – Expert

Nigerians have been warned not to drill their borehole and well close to abattoir, cemetery and industrial waste effluents to avoid having their water source being contaminated which could be harmful to the body.
According to the acting executive Chairman Kaduna State Water Services Regulatory Commission, Barrister Shuaibu Maisamari, drilling of borehole water and well should be well cased, then drafting (mixture of cements, sharp sand, water and chemical), should be at least 10 meters deep to avoid contamination with soak away and drainage water. 
Speaking after a meeting with the Association of Water, Well Drillers, Rigging of Nigeria (AWDRON) on Tuesday in Kaduna, the water regulator said, “there are five ways in which drilling water can be contaminated. 
“Three are unavoidable, but you can be free from two of them. If you drill borehole or well water close to abattoir, cemetery of industrial waste, contamination can take place through these. 
“The two that can easily be avoided are general drainage and soak away. One has to be very careful, soak away should not be more than 5m deep. Then after casing the water very well, drafting should be at least 10m deep to seal the drill and stop contamination.”
The Vice President Northwest of AWDRON, Abubakar Musa Machika, said essence of the meeting was to intimate the regulators on the outcome of their congress meeting in Ibadan, Oyo state. 
“We came here to present the communiqué of our national meeting in Ibadan to the regulators because we are working together. 
“Quackery come from people who want to drill their borehole but are looking for drillers. We have different materials and you cannot get standard borehole without standard casing and standard drills. They go round to speak with five companies to sample price and people need to know the difference between quacks and professionals. People should go to professionals who would give them quality jobs not quacks,” he said.
Chairman Kaduna state chapter of AWDRON, Hon. Suleiman Tanimu, in his remarks said many people prefer cheap material to quality material, adding that most would not want to do geophysical survey to pick suitable spot before drilling their borehole. 
He said the solution to quackery is for people to go for professionals who would do standard quality job instead of those that would use cheap sub-standard materials.