By Obinwa Chikaodili
The Anambra State Urban Water Assets Holding Corporation (ASUWAHC), in partnership with the Borehole Drillers Association of Nigeria (BODAN), Anambra State Chapter, has trained borehole drilling practitioners in the state on professional standards and best practices.
The free workshop, themed “Best Practices in Borehole Drilling,” was held at the ASUWAHC Conference Hall, Awka, on Sept. 14, to improve the technical capacity of drillers and promote safe and sustainable groundwater development.
Declaring the workshop open, the Officer-in-Charge of ASUWAHC, Mrs Emmanuella Okafor, said successful borehole drilling went beyond striking water, noting that proper site investigation, professional construction, appropriate pumping systems, water quality testing and regular maintenance were essential to safe and sustainable water supply.
She urged participants to embrace continuous professional development and assured that ASUWAHC would continue to support initiatives promoting responsible water resource management.
The Chairman of BODAN, Anambra State Chapter, Mr Edet Solomon, commended ASUWAHC for the partnership, noting that continuous training was necessary to equip practitioners with current knowledge and reduce unprofessional practices that could compromise groundwater resources and public safety.
In a technical lecture, the Principal Hydrogeologist at ASUWAHC, Mr Aloysius Anazoba, took participants through the borehole drilling process, including site assessment, hydrogeological investigation, geophysical survey, drilling, geological logging, casing and screen installation, gravel packing, sanitary sealing, borehole development, well head protection, test pumping and water sampling for laboratory analysis.
The Chief Executive Officer of Domeztech Nigeria Ltd., Mr Dominic Ezeh, spoke on the use of solar energy in powering water supply systems, describing it as a viable alternative or complementary power source in areas with inadequate or unreliable electricity.
The Managing Director of Docchy Analytical Laboratories and Environment Services Ltd., Dr David Okechukwu, addressed the topic, “Water Analysis: A Public Health View,” stressing that clear looking borehole water was not necessarily safe for consumption and that laboratory testing was necessary to detect harmful microorganisms and substances not visible to the eye.
The workshop ended with the presentation of certificates to the trainees by the Officer-in-Charge, recognising their completion of the training.
Obinwa Chikaodili is of the Ministry of Information and Value Reformation, Anambra State
#Ministryofinformationandvaluereformation
#Anambraisrising
#BODANProfessionalTraining #GroundWaterDevelopment
#Solutionishere
#Solutioncontinues
