John Bosco Megolonyo another resident in Lamogi Sub County said that his family has abandoned drawing water from the affected boreholes after suffering stomach aches and skin rashes, something they believed was linked to unclean water from the borehole.
Residents of Amuru District are struggling to access clean water due to the contamination of more than 30 boreholes.
The affected boreholes reportedly produce filthy water with metallic particles making it unsafe for human consumption. They are located in Attiak Town Council, Amuru Town Council, Lamogi Sub County, and Pabbo Town Council. These are part of the 473 functional boreholes in the district.
Santa Akwir, a resident of Olwal Trading Centre says that the only borehole which they had been using since 2010 produces water with a filthy smell and brownish metallic particles when pumped.
She noted that for safety and health purposes, residents in the area have abandoned the borehole and now trek over 6 kilometers to draw water from unprotected wells for domestic usages.
John Bosco Megolonyo another resident in Lamogi Sub County said that his family has abandoned drawing water from the affected boreholes after suffering stomach aches and skin rashes, something they believed was linked to unclean water from the borehole.
Caroline Ayet, from Andara in Pabo Sub County, explained that the borehole in their area does not only contain metallic particles but is also brownish and salty prompting residents to abandon it.
She added that cases of diseases like dysentery, bilharzia, diarrhea, and stomach pains are common among the residents because they now rely on unclean water from swamps and open springs.
Ayet, added that the situation always worsens during the dry season when the serving water points dry up.
“The cases of diseases like bilharziasis and diarrhea are many among the people in our community since we have deterred our only one borehole which produces salty brown water with bad odors and we have resorted to consuming contaminated water collected from unprotected sources such as stream, wellspring, and river”.
John Bosco Labalpiny the Chairperson of Pabbo Sub County revealed that in his area alone, more than seven boreholes have been abandoned due to the unhealthy conditions.
He asked the water department in the district to access the situation and find workable solutions to the problems since they were incapacitated to work on it.
Robinson Payolem the Amuru district water officer who confirmed the problem says that a rapid assessment on over 30 boreholes in the district confirmed that water produced from the boreholes has high mineral contents including copper sulfate, magnesium, and calcium which are beneath the ground.
He added that some of the metal contents are also due to the rusting of metallic pipes used to drill the boreholes.
He noted that they intend to replace the metallic pipes with plastic ones which cannot rust as plans to drill more boreholes are also being discussed.
