Additional 20 wells drilled and Instrumented in both Borno and Yobe States to compliment 33 No. Groundwater Monitoring Stations across the Country.
Mr James Bisong, Director Hydrogeology Department, Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, and the department in charge of the Groundwater Monitoring Network Project had stated this while speaking at the opening session of the just concluded Two – Day mini Workshop, on Integrated Groundwater Surveillance In the North – East Nigeria, held on Tuesday 21st – Wednesday
22nd September 2021, at the Agency’s office headquarters in Abuja.
The Workshop he said is the offspring of Signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), between Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), and Action Against Hunger (AAH), in 2018.
Mr Bisong further stated that the purpose of the workshop was to establish a common understanding of the analysis and interpretation of the goals and objectives of the Programme and also design appropriate protocols for data storage, sharing and dissemination.
Urging participants to take responsibilities towards sustaining the achievements attained, he also noted that its necessary to maintain the Monitoring wells and carry out bi -annual data retrieval for analysis, processing, archiving and dissemination to relevant stakeholders for sustainable groundwater management.
The Director General, Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA),
Engr. Clement Nze, speaking at the session, stressed the need on harnessing the data retrieved for sustainable Groundwater Monitoring in the North – East, thereby making progress at the targeted objective of the project.
Declaring the Workshop open, and urging participants to come out with a firm communique, the DG noted that NIHSA, will continue to harness data on surface and groundwater for sustainable Water Resources Management and Development in Nigeria.
While Mr Kanagan Rangaiya, Head of WASH Department, on his part said, AAH’s primary goal is to create better way to deal with hunger, he noted that the humanitarian agency had been in operation in northern Nigeria since 2010, in response to high rate of malnutrition, providing health programming that focuses on nutrition and social protection for children, pregnant and lactating mothers in Jigawa and Yobe States, but however expanded programming in Borno State in 2014 to address needs that includes; health, nutrition, WASH, food security, livelyhoods and shelter needs.
Professor Ibrahim Baba Goni, of the Department of Geology, University of Maiduguri, while presenting a Paper on Hydrological Settings and Challenges of Data, said Groundwater Resources is threatened by depletion of its quantity and degradation of its quality, but however called on the need to monitor these parameters in order to manage the resources sustainably.
Notable amongst other presentations made was the North – East Groundwater Monitoring Data by Mr Simeon Okpara, Assistant Director, Hydrogeology Department, Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), and the Role of GIS in Groundwater Management, by Mr Clement Babatunde Ojo, Head of GIS Unit, Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA).
Lauretta Samuel (Mrs)
Head Press and PR Unit
22nd September 2021.
