The Jos Water Services Corporation (JWSC) has decried illegal activities around the Lamingo water dam site, one of its sources of raw water.
Managing Director Apollos Samchi, who addressed reporters yesterday, said 44 persons were arrested at the site for engaging in activities that threaten supply of potable water to residents.
Samchi said the illegal activities included mining, irrigation farming and block making. This, he said, causes chemicals and heavy metals to leak into the water source, thus hindering the government’s strategic investment in providing potable water in the metropolis and the state.
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He added: “These illegal miners are mining directly at the bank of the dam, whereby all the residues goes directly into the water. Asides the water being polluted, some of the heavy metals from the mined minerals cannot be treated, which is also a health threat.”