Igbo-Ukwu Water Supply

IGBO-UKWU WATER PROJECT – 1975

Igbo-Ukwu was known for the perennial water problem. For this reason, Igbo-Ukwu made the water project a priority from the onset. In the early 60s, the town was committed to joining any water project and as the situation was, the East Central State Water Scheme at Uga was the closest to Igbo-Ukwu which Igbo-Ukwu gladly joined and contributed her own quota to the realization of the Scheme. According to the records on the Cash Deposits (Pre-War) By Communities for Water Scheme, published in the Weekly Star Newspaper on Sunday, December 28 of 1975, Igbo-Ukwu had contributed a total of £3000. However, Igbo-Ukwu was getting her water supplies from Uga but the supplies were very irregular. The Federal Military Government later approved the Igbo-Ukwu Water Scheme and by early 1970, works were already in progress at the site. The site is at the present-day Nkwo Market Square near the Old Apex Medical Center Site. The relics of this scheme could be seen standing there today.

There were rays of hope in 1982/83 when the Federal Government sunk two bore holes at Igbo-Ukwu, but none of them appeared to be successful. Perhaps, for this reason, the Federal Government resorted to supplying water to Igbo-Ukwu through the full implementation of the Obizi (Uga) water scheme.