By Sadia
The Managing Director of the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC), Gallo Saidy, has warned that poor waste disposal habits are threatening the safety of drinking water in the country.
Speaking on Coffee Time with Peter Gomez on Tuesday, Mr. Saidy said that urbanisation and reckless dumping around boreholes were contaminating groundwater, which remains the main source of drinking water for most Gambians.
“Contamination of groundwater is a difficult one to manage. Even if NAWEC fences its boreholes, the groundwater is the same groundwater. If it is contaminated, it will still affect our supply,” he explained.
Saidy urged the public to stop dumping rubbish and wastewater near borehole areas, warning of the risks. “NAWEC borehole facilities are where you get your water. So don’t put your rubbish there, because you’ll be drinking it again,” he cautioned.
The NAWEC chief also blamed septic tanks and uncontrolled urbanisation for worsening the problem. “If you have too many urbanisations within a cluster of boreholes with dumps and everything, that’s a big threat,” he said, stressing the need for collective responsibility to protect water sources.
His comments come at a time of heightened public frustration with NAWEC over erratic water supply, with residents in several communities reporting that even when taps flow, the water is sometimes visibly dirty.
