Humans have established communities and flourished around sources of clean, drinkable water since the beginning of time; It is vital to our survival. British poet W. H. Auden once noted, “Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.” Yet while we all know water is crucial for life, we trash it anyway.
Water pollution is the cause of a long chain of illnesses. Infectious diseases can easily be spread through contaminated water. Some of these water-borne diseases are Typhoid, Cholera, Paratyphoid Fever, Dysentery, Jaundice, Amoebiasis and Malaria, to least a very few.
The health consequences alone of water pollution is quite remarkable, and is evident all around the globe so that last year alone, deaths from dirty water and related diseases is 3,393,156.
The problem of unclean water, to the extent of being unsafe, is more prevalent in developing countries, and is manifest almost everywhere in Nigeria.
In Abuja, the capital city, as a result of Increased human activities, the accidental and intentional dumping of pollutants, the Jabi lake, the only water body available to fun-seeking citizens with the metropolis is witnessing more than a fair share of water pollution; the fringes of the lake is unsightly, having been littered dense with all types of garbage, mostly plastic soft drink containers. Plastic pollution threatens food safety and quality, human health, coastal tourism, and contributes to climate change.
Without intervention, the challenges of pollution on the Jabi Lake will only increase as the demand for freshwater and eco goods and services also increase for communities whose source of livelihood is from the lake.
One of the most effective ways to stand up for our waters is to act, and speak out, in support of the Clean Water Rule. In compliance, on Saturday, the 6th of February, 2021, the Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP), a Non-Governmental Organisation registered in Nigeria, visited the Jabi lake with volunteers and well-wishers to conduct a cleaning exercise.
At the end of the event which received tremendous support from members of the fishing community, the organisation was able to remove more than forty sack-full of waste from the water body, the fringes of the lake and its surroundings.