Vanishing Water Levels In Plateau State: The Climate Change Effect

Learn how climate change is affecting water levels in Plateau State, increasing the cost of drilling, and impacting communities. Discover sustainable solutions to reverse these effects.

Kim Davou, a 42-year-old well digger from Shen, Jos South, has witnessed firsthand the alarming decline in water availability over the past decade. As new residential areas continue to emerge in Plateau State, the demand for water wells has surged, but so have the challenges of finding sustainable water sources.

Changing Digging Patterns

In earlier years, digging a 30-33 foot deep well during March or April sufficed for year-round water needs. However, in the last five years, Davou has had to begin digging earlier—January or February—and increase depths to 35-37 feet to find water.

“This change in pattern is something I can’t explain,” he said, highlighting the difficulty posed by increasingly dry and compact ground conditions.

Borehole Drilling Challenges

Kassam Gaktuwe, a geologist and Managing Director of Benian General Services Limited, shared a similar story regarding boreholes. Previously, drilling 25-35 meters in Plateau was enough to access water. However, today, depths of over 100 meters often fail to yield results, forcing drillers to go as deep as 150 meters in some cases.

“Climate change is affecting underground aquifers,” Kassam explained. “Aquifers that once held water are now empty, making it increasingly expensive to access water.”

Rising Costs of Water Access

The deeper digging requirements have significantly raised costs for both manual and machine-assisted drilling.

Manual diggers like Davou now charge between ₦150,000 and ₦200,000 per well compared to ₦14,000–₦30,000 in earlier years.
Machine drilling costs have skyrocketed from ₦2,500 per meter to ₦14,000–₦15,000 per meter, with total costs often exceeding ₦2 million for a 150-meter borehole.

Climate Change: A Shared Responsibility

Dr. Meshach Alfa, an expert in water resources and environmental engineering, believes the crisis is reversible through collective action. He emphasized that unchecked resource exploitation and climate change threaten not just the environment but also global stability, infrastructure, and food security.

Dr. Alfa advocated for:

Adopting clean and renewable energy sources.
Reducing deforestation and increasing tree planting efforts.
Promoting sustainable agricultural practices.
Using low-carbon transport options and reducing meat consumption.

“Sustainable development requires an integrated approach that considers environmental, social, and economic factors,” he noted.

Why This Matters

Climate change affects everyone, regardless of social status. Ordinary individuals like Davou and experts like Alfa agree: urgent action is needed to integrate climate resilience into infrastructure and systems development.

If ignored, the water scarcity in Plateau could soon become a nationwide crisis. By embracing sustainable practices and addressing climate change collectively, communities can secure a more stable future.

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