The Kano State Government is committing billions of naira to rehabilitate treatment plants, upgrade pumping infrastructure and build new dams. Yet in communities such as Dutsen Bakoshi, residents still spend hours searching for water and, when they can afford it, hundreds of naira buying a single container.
In Shanono Local Government Area, more than 40,000 people across 21 villages depend heavily on seasonal earth dams. During the rainy season, the water offers some relief. But when the dry season arrives, and the dams recede, the search begins again.
For residents of Dutsen Bakoshi, the crisis has become a daily struggle.
“The hardship we are facing because of lack of water is almost historic for us. In virtually the entire Shanono Local Government Area, there is no one facing the water crisis as severely as we are,” said Aminu Bashir, a resident of Dutsen Bakoshi.
The community’s difficult terrain also makes groundwater particularly difficult to access. For households that cannot wait or walk long distances, there is the informal water market.
Bashir said the price of a jerrycan had risen steadily as the shortage worsened.
“The price of a jerrycan of water went from 300 naira to 400 naira and eventually to 500 naira. That is how we have been living,” he said.
At ₦500 for a 25-litre container, a household buying four containers a day would spend ₦2,000 daily, or about ₦60,000 over 30 days.
Dutsen Bakoshi offers a window into a problem that extends far beyond one community.
Kano has dams, treatment plants, pumping stations and distribution networks. It is now investing heavily in rehabilitating some of them and building new infrastructure.
But the state’s experience suggests that the challenge is no longer simply about building more water infrastructure. It is about whether the infrastructure can produce water consistently, reach the people who need it, and remain functional after commissioning. That is the test facing Kano’s latest water investments.
Can billions of naira in new and rehabilitated infrastructure finally deliver reliable water, or will residents remain dependent on the same informal systems that have kept them supplied through years of public-sector shortages?
A CRISIS BEYOND THE TAP
In Dutsen Bakoshi, the problem begins partly with geography. The community sits on rocky terrain, according to residents, making groundwater particularly difficult to access. Attempts to drill boreholes have reportedly produced limited results.
Bashir said residents had repeatedly hoped that borehole projects would provide a permanent solution, but some interventions were never completed. He recalled an intervention involving Senator Barau I. Jibrin, who represents Kano North in the Senate, saying work on a borehole initially raised hopes after residents were told water had been found.
“They told us they had found water that could supply our community. But from the day they left, we kept hearing that the governor had not released the funds. Eventually, they said the money had been released, but up till today they have not returned,” he said.
Bashir’s account highlights the gap between announcing an intervention and delivering a functioning water supply.
For residents, however, the immediate concern is not the geology. It is survival.
Bashir said the shortage had affected basic hygiene and household activities, with some families forced to rely on sachet water for cooking.
“Sometimes you can go seven or eight days without taking a bath. There are households where we use sachet water to cook our food. That is how we live,” he said.
During the rainy season, the situation can take another turn. Bashir said residents sometimes collect water from ponds for drinking.
“If you come here during the rainy season, you will see how people collect water from these ponds. The water crisis is much worse than you can imagine,” he said.
His account illustrates a broader point: water infrastructure is only useful when people can actually access the water. It is about whether people can obtain safe water, close to home, at a price they can afford, and throughout the year. That distinction matters as Kano embarks on another round of major infrastructure spending.
Kano’s billions and the infrastructure question
The Kano State Government’s latest intervention is focused heavily on rehabilitating infrastructure that already exists.
In 2026, the state’s approved budget includes ₦4 billion for rehabilitation works at the Tamburawa Treatment Plant.
The government subsequently signed contracts worth ₦21.29 billion for the rehabilitation of the Tamburawa and Challawa water treatment facilities and associated infrastructure. The contracts cover ₦9.9 billion for Tamburawa and its raw water pump station, and ₦11.39 billion for the Challawa Raw Water Pump Station and Treatment Plant, as well as the Goron Dutse reservoirs.
The significance of the projects is that Tamburawa and Challawa are existing facilities whose performance has been affected by deterioration, vandalism and operational constraints.
In April 2026, the Acting Commissioner for Water Resources, Dahiru Muhammad-Hashim, said the Tamburawa plant was designed to produce 150 million litres of water per day but was operating at about 27 percent of its capacity. He said the Challawa facility, with a capacity of 220 million litres per day, was operating at less than 30 percent. Combined, the two plants were designed to supply 370 million litres daily.
The figures show the gap between installed capacity and the water actually being produced. The Federal Government is also pursuing projects with implications for water storage, irrigation and domestic supply.
In February 2026, the Federal Government officially flagged off the Bela Dam project in Bichi Local Government Area. The Federal Ministry of Information said the multipurpose dam has a planned storage capacity of 775,000 cubic metres and is intended to support irrigation, domestic water supply, fisheries, livestock production and agriculture, while also helping address flooding.
The Federal Government also approved funding for the earth dam project, with a projected completion period of 36 months. Federal interventions around Kano’s dams also include irrigation schemes aimed at increasing agricultural production and making greater use of available water resources.
On paper, the approach is broader than simply drilling more boreholes. It recognises that Kano’s water problem involves storage, treatment, pumping, distribution and irrigation. But infrastructure alone does not guarantee a functioning water system. And Kano’s existing infrastructure shows the consequences when the system does not perform as intended.
When infrastructure exists but water does not
Kano has dams, treatment plants, pumping stations, reservoirs and distribution networks. Yet residents in both urban and rural communities continue to report shortages. The problem is therefore not simply a lack of infrastructure, but also its capacity, condition and operation.
The performance figures from Tamburawa and Challawa demonstrates this gap. Tamburawa was operating at about 27 percent of its designed capacity, while Challawa was operating at less than 30 percent when the state assessed the facilities ahead of the current rehabilitation.
The figures show why having treatment plants does not automatically guarantee reliable supply.
The figures do not argue against infrastructure investment. They show why investment in physical assets must be matched by effective operation, maintenance and distribution. That is the challenge facing the current rehabilitation programme.
The challenge beyond commissioning
Kano’s recent experience with the Thomas Regional Water Scheme illustrates another vulnerability.
In June 2026, the Kano State Government announced the suspension of the manager of the scheme after an inspection reportedly found that a recently completed facility had been looted before commissioning. The state said electrical components from generators and pumps had been removed and described the incident as alleged sabotage and vandalism. The suspension was announced pending an investigation.
The incident should not be treated as proof that all new water projects will fail. But it raises a question that is often overlooked when projects are built:
What happens to infrastructure after the contractors leave?
Construction has a beginning and an end. Maintenance does not.
Pumps require regular servicing, pipes need repairs, electrical equipment must be maintained, and treatment chemicals, fuel, and technical support must be readily available. Facilities also require security, while breakdowns must be detected and repaired promptly to prevent prolonged outages.
For Kano, managing completed infrastructure may be just as important as building it. That means looking at recurring maintenance budgets, technical staffing, procurement systems, electricity costs, revenue collection, asset management and security.
Without those systems, today’s investment could become tomorrow’s rehabilitation project.
When water becomes a household bill
In Dutsen Bakoshi, the informal water market is not a luxury. It is the emergency infrastructure. When the earth dam dries up, vendors fill the gap. But vendors face their own costs. As sources become more distant and transportation becomes more expensive, those costs can be passed on to households.
For families already living on limited incomes, the effect can be severe.
Bashir’s account of the price rising from ₦300 to ₦500 a jerrycan shows how quickly the cost can add up.
At ₦500 per 25-litre container, four containers a day would cost ₦2,000.
Over 30 days, that is ₦60,000.
That calculation assumes the same price every day and a consumption level of 100 litres, so it should not be interpreted as the typical cost for every household. But it demonstrates the scale of the burden that unreliable water supply can create.
And 100 litres may not be enough for a household’s full needs. There is drinking and cooking, but also bathing, washing clothes, cleaning, sanitation and, in some households, caring for livestock.
Bashir’s account suggests that the consequences go beyond household expenditure, affecting hygiene and other basic activities.
For farmers, unreliable water also affects dry-season agricultural activity, particularly where irrigation infrastructure is limited or poorly maintained. This is why the economic case for reliable water extends beyond the household tap.
A functioning water system can reduce household spending on alternative sources, improve time available for school and work, reduce costs for businesses and support agricultural production.
The economic return on water infrastructure therefore depends not only on how much infrastructure is built, but on whether people can actually use it.
Delivering water to the last mile.
For residents of Dutsen Bakoshi, the critical question is whether water can get from its source to their homes.
The challenge is particularly acute where groundwater is difficult to access, and communities depend on seasonal sources. Finding water is one thing. Treating it is another. Getting it to people is another. Getting it there consistently is harder still.
A project can therefore be completed and still fall short if the distribution network does not reach the communities it was designed to serve.
That is why Kano’s water infrastructure should be viewed as a chain rather than a collection of projects. The source must work. The treatment plant must work. The electricity supply must work. The pumps must work. The reservoirs must work. The pipes must hold. The distribution system must reach communities. And the entire chain must be maintained. If any part of that chain fails, the household at the end of the system can still be left carrying a jerrycan.
What does Water Security look like?
The true test of Kano’s new water investments should not be the number of contracts awarded, dams inaugurated, treatment plants rehabilitated or facilities commissioned. It should be what changes for people at the end of the system.
Can the state measure this through clear service indicators: How many litres of treated water are actually produced each day? How many communities receive piped water, and for how many hours each day or week? How much water is lost through leaks? How often do major facilities break down, and how quickly are faults repaired?
Other measures are equally important: how much is spent annually on routine maintenance, how much revenue is collected from users, and how many households still depend primarily on water vendors and other informal sources.
These indicators would provide a clearer measure of progress than project completion figures alone.
For communities such as Dutsen Bakoshi, one measure would be particularly revealing: how much less are households spending to obtain water?
If a household that once spent tens of thousands of naira a month on alternative water sources can substantially reduce that cost because reliable public supply has reached the community, the impact is immediate. But if residents are still walking for hours or paying vendors hundreds of naira per container years after a project is commissioned, it would raise questions about whether the infrastructure has addressed the underlying problem.
From Spending to Sustainability
Kano is at a critical moment. The state is committing significant funds to rehabilitate treatment plants and distribution infrastructure, while the Federal Government pursues new dams and irrigation projects. These investments could increase water production, improve distribution, strengthen storage and boost dry-season farming.
But the outcome will depend on what happens after construction. The key question is not simply how much Kano is spending on water, but whether the infrastructure will be properly operated and maintained after the projects are completed.
That is where sustainability will be tested. For Dutsen Bakoshi residents, the demand is simple: safe, affordable water close to home, available even in the dry season. Without that, the cycle continues. The rains fill the earth dam, families get temporary relief, then the dry season comes, the water disappears, and residents return to long walks and costly vendors.
The challenge for Kano’s new water projects is to break that cycle. The billions being invested will ultimately be measured not by contracts or commissioning ceremonies, but by what happens in communities like Dutsen Bakoshi when the rains end: whether families can still find safe, affordable water close to home.
