Wupa Sewage Treatment Plant fully functional – AEPB Director

• …Says no threat of epidemic

By Stanley Onyekwere

The FCT Administration through the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) has declared that the Abuja Sewage Treatment Plant, located in Wupa District remains fully functional and well maintained for optimal treatment of sewage from phases I,II,III and part of phase IV of the nation’s capital.
AEPB Director, Engr. Osi Briamah made this assertion, in the wake of a news report that there is threat of epidemic outbreak and exposure of FCT residents to sewage toxins, due to purported shutdown of the Plant, which is the biggest in the FCT for a 6-month period.
Briamah, who described the report as untrue, said it would be the height of irresponsibility to shutdown such critical infrastructure for such a period.
He added that there was no discharge of raw sewage into the Wupa river bassin, as it is only treated effluent, which meets both international and Nigerian regulations for discharge of treated sewage water, which is eco-friendly.
“There was no time that the plant was shutdown for 6 months. Even when we service our plant we have two number of 15,000 kilowatts generators working, and occasionally we shutdown one for maintenance purposes. So each work for 500 hours, while we shutdown the service, then the other comes into commission- working alternately.
“Maybe this is what somebody said that during maintenance the plant was shutdown, but never a time it was shutdown for 6 months. And it would be the height of irresponsibility to shutdown such critical infrastructure for such a period. So it is even hard to belief that it would occur.
“So, there is no panic, threat of epidemic or disease outbreak at all, as there is no discharge of raw sewage anywhere in the FCT. The sewage coming out from this plant is treated.
“Even though we owe our contractors, which happens because of dealings in procurement processes or budgeting and so on, but the contractor continued to provide service.
“So is true that we do owe, but there was never a time the contract was stopped or no supply of diesel. Challenged come and we overcome them, so the plant was working all the time”, he stressed.