₦airaland Forum

Lagos Is Pumping Itself Dry – Boreholes Are A Ticking Time Bomb

Let’s stop pretending.

Boreholes are NOT an unlimited water cheat code.

In Lagos, almost every building now has a borehole. Estates drill. Hotels drill. Churches drill. Companies drill. Everybody is pumping groundwater like it’s immortal.

Who is measuring how much we’re removing?
Who is regulating it?
Who is monitoring aquifer levels?

Nobody.

We’re extracting millions of litres daily from underground reserves that took hundreds or thousands of years to accumulate.

And we think it will never finish?

Lagos is a coastal city. What happens when:

Water tables drop significantly?
Saltwater starts entering freshwater aquifers?
Boreholes start producing salty or muddy water?
The ground begins to sink from over-extraction?
This is not theory. It has happened in:

Jakarta (serious land subsidence issues)
Cape Town (almost hit “Day Zero”)
Chennai (major water shortages)
But here in Lagos, we act like drilling deeper is the solution to everything.

Instead of demanding proper national water infrastructure, we normalized private survival mode.

The real uncomfortable question:

Are we building houses today that may not have sustainable water in 30 years?

Property developers won’t talk about it.
Government barely regulates it.
Homeowners just want water to flow today.

But groundwater doesn’t care about vibes.

So let’s debate honestly:

Should borehole drilling require stricter permits?
Should there be extraction limits?
Should government heavily invest in central water supply instead of leaving citizens to fend for themselves?
Or is this fear-mongering?
Is Lagos gradually creating its own future water crisis?

Let’s hear real opinions — no sentiment.


SOURCE: https://shomek.gt.tc/topic.php/537/lagos-is-pumping-itself-dry-boreholes-are-a-ticking-time-bomb

Nlfpmod

But Lagos sit on top of water. How many can they drain

The sandfilled places in Lagos state, the water are still around below

It’s a Nigerian thing.

Sometimes I wonder what the need is for citizens to have government and pay taxes.

Citizens in Nigeria do everything for themselves, yet they still pay taxes that politicians steal.

The sad reality is we have some people defending these useless politicians with their blood.

Every man is a government of himself....

we provide electricity for ourselves
we provide our water
we provide our security

government nor really send anybody ..

Thank you for the insights, I initially thought ground water was replaced instantly. No wonder the developed countries rarely depend on boreholes but on pipe borne water

helinues:
But Lagos sit on top of water. How many can they drain

The sandfilled places in Lagos state, the water are still around below

The op has a very strong point .

He is very correct..

Check how advanced countries manage water..

Water is no joke and the water in the aquifer have accumulated for thousands to millions of years…

Cities are literally sitting on the water table and sucking off the aquifer could lead to collapse of the structure and that would be a terrible disaster.

But Nigerian government are at it again, no vision, no plan…eat the country dry.
This is a big risk waiting to explode in future… it may not happen now but we may leave disaster for our future generations .
Not just Lagos but every city with boreholes and deep wells

They should learn from Tehran(Iran) and China.

Rainfall will replace every dam water

kettykin:
Thank you for the insights, I initially thought ground water was replaced instantly. No wonder the developed countries rarely depend on boreholes but on pipe borne water

There are different levels of water table…
The ones easily replaced are shallow wells… and the water is not that clean, those are the ones that go dry during dry seasons.

But the boreholes we have in Nigeria are everlastingly supplying water come rain or no rain… those ones go deep to the aquifers that have accumulated for thisusand to millions of years ago… fetching from that is the real danger.. the water there shouldn’t have been touched

Chazzyboy:
Rainfall will replace every dam water

No that’s not entirely true..

Imagine you have an opened tank and it has been collecting rain water for several weeks and finally got filled.
Then everyone started to fetch from that tank to bath, and drink…. But the only source of replenishing that water is rainfall..
You will deplete the water from that tank faster than rainfall would ever replace

I don't think this is accurate.

Not all borehole get to the reservoirs. That is why we have muddy water in lekki and cost.

Also in the places like Lagos, it is a replishable resource

What makes Lagos case manageable is the fact that they don't take the water far from the source it was pumed out from. They use it and it finds it was back into the ground as clean looking borehole water.

Not just Lagos, the entire planet earth... Why else do you think the billionaires are looking into other planets?

Omoawoke:
The op has a very strong point .

He is very correct..

Check how advanced countries manage water..

Water is no joke and the water in the aquifer have accumulated for thousands to millions of years…

Cities are literally sitting on the water table and sucking off the aquifer could lead to collapse of the structure and that would be a terrible disaster.

But Nigerian government are at it again, no vision, no plan…eat the country dry.
This is a big risk waiting to explode in future… it may not happen now but we may leave disaster for our future generations .
Not just Lagos but every city with boreholes and deep wells

Why was Ola of Lagos car show room demolished?

Omoawoke:
No that’s not entirely true..

Imagine you have an opened tank and it has been collecting rain water for several weeks and finally got filled.
Then everyone started to fetch from that tank to bath, and drink…. But the only source of replenishing that water is rainfall..
You will deplete the water from that tank faster than rainfall would ever replace

If you have a single idea of the volume of just one rainfall for 30min only you will cancel this comment

Omoawoke:
There are different levels of water table…
The ones easily replaced are shallow wells… and the water is not that clean, those are the ones that go dry during dry seasons.

But the boreholes we have in Nigeria are everlastingly supplying water come rain or no rain… those ones go deep to the aquifers that have accumulated for thisusand to millions of years ago… fetching from that is the real danger.. the water there shouldn’t have been touched

Ohk, thank you for the deep insights

We built Lagos indeed.

One of the things that never impressed me about Tinubu and I choose Tinubu because he had the chance to change this back then in the 99 - 07, was the failure to make Lagos Water Corporation supply the state. That was a monumental failure if you recognize how much Jakande did in 4 years for a Lagos of our dreams. Pure water made its debut in Lagos around the early 2000s. Government watched on. If you were a child who took water from the tap on the public, raise your hands up 🙌 If a government, whether it's Tinubu or not cannot provide the basic infrastructure such as water, light and good roads, F9 ❌ Yesterday, someone said luxurious is the most abused word used in Nigeria today. And the person said they use the term luxury because most Nigerians have not been given the basics or experienced it before so anyone can say their solar is luxury 😔 The defenders of the government never experienced anything better, so they think defending the government is better and constructive criticism is bitter!

Now, the IPP Tinubu fought Obasanjo for, Lagos has the golden chance to generate its electricity and do far better than what Abia's Orji is currently bragging about, but instead of them to ask questions, they prefer all of you to be fighting ethnic and religious fights so they can never be held accountable. Who loses? You the foolish people who let politicians play their cards on you. Lagos is trying to keep the environment clean when Fashola did his home work. Sanwoolu is still struggling with administering a clean city. Ambode came and visionscaped everything away. Yet, they say they had a masterplan. Fashola also blamed the FG for the electricity independence and they finally got to power in 2015. They've been there for years, no opposition but light up Lagos is what Sanwo-Olu is celebrating in 2026 after Ambode made that his first 100 days project in 2015. Make it make sense. Your leaders are evil. Instead of serving you, they corner your resources and always want to settle contractors so the money can come back to them. No light, no water. Bad environment, bad water. Bad waste, dirty water. Chai.

You all are comfortable with sleeping with your oppressors.

You provide your own electricity (generator)
You provide your own water (bore hole)
You provide your own road (patch)
You provide your own housing (build your own)
You provide your own drinking water (pure water)
You provide your own waste management system
And they tax you upon all of these. You must be so in love with yourself that you will allow a government abuse you this much. They tax you for not doing their jobs. Oyo State wanted to tax those who dug boreholes but they were quiet about the negligence of the state to provide water to the people. And they had an engineer as Governor. Your politicians are very very very very wicked people.

SixSeven:
REPOST

Meta said you should talk to your neighbours as if they can hear you. That's how you know artificial intelligence from real. Have we tried talking to our governments? How Nigerians became comfortable with this thing is insane, some people use industrial generators that work with diesel. Now everyone is going solar too because of government negligence. Tinubu himself changed the power supply at the Villa to solar. GCFR
Generator Commander of the Federal Republic.



https://www.tiktok.com/video/7532602447609564421

Generator noise is not the loudest of your problems, it is the fumes that are the silent killers and probably one of the reasons for the increase in cancer cases in Nigeria without us knowing. Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a major component of fuel generator fumes. Carcinogenicity of these compounds has long been established. Those pollutants are not safe for your air and direct contact with your skin, water and environment. Imagine sitting behind the exhaust of a vehicle. That's what we are doing to ourselves.
If you cannot sleep well because of the noise, your health is affected. If you cannot hear well, because of the noise, your hearing is affected.
If you cannot breathe well because of the smoke, your health is affected. If you have the money, switch to solar but what sense does that make if you still live in an environment where your neighbours still use generators? You see why Nigerians need to solve this problem as a collective instead of doing I beta pass my neighbour competition.


Who did this to us All I want to say is they don't even care about us

But it's not as if the water being used is taken out of Lagos. It still returns in the form of waste etc so I don't really think it's a major issue.

xtivin:
If you have a single idea of the volume of just one rainfall for 30min only you will cancel this comment

The explanation I gave is simple enough for any mind to understand…

Won’t start unnecessary time wasting arguments if you don’t know the you can’t depend on rainwater to fill up a tank compared to usage by people

I prefer Lagos to Enugu that doesn't have underground water and you have to be buying water from truck drivers every 3 days.

kettykin:
Thank you for the insights, I initially thought ground water was replaced instantly. No wonder the developed countries rarely depend on boreholes but on pipe borne water

borehole is rechargeable through rain. Don't mind non - professional

Don't create issues where there is non

What do you expect when the government is not providing water for the populace.

OP you're incorrect.
The issue of proliferation of boreholes and depletion of water table are separate issues.
If as you suggested for a central water supply source like State Water Board of old,: won't they also take water from the ground to also distribute to peope? How does that reduce the volume of water consumed? If 250m people need 10bn litres daily, that is what they will still use whether it comes from their personal boreholes or waterboard.

How does that replenish the source?


The warning about proliferation of boreholes is in the area of puncturing so much holes in the earth, which some people fear could lead to earthquakes in future.

wonder233:
OP you're incorrect.
The issue of proliferation of boreholes and depletion of water table are separate issues.
If as you suggested for a central water supply source like State Water Board of old,: won't they also take water from the ground to also distribute to peope? How does that reduce the volume of water consumed? If 250m people need 10bn litres daily, that is what they will still use whether it comes from their personal boreholes or waterboard.

How does that replenish the source?


The warning about proliferation of boreholes is in the area of puncturing so much holes in the earth, which some people fear could lead to earthquakes in future.

State could take water from a certain part and also augment it with recycled water. Out here the city augument it with recycled water and during summer they may increase the price per cubic meter to discourage people from wasting water in the name of watering their lawn.

Also like the op mentioned, the city has responsible office that keeps track of the water level and make projection how long it will last.

Before there were boreholes, there were wells. I remember when we used to fetch water from the well in my childhood neighbourhood. Even at the times the people drew water till it got to sand level, the water level would have gotten restored by the next day. Thays during dry season. During rainy season, water is always surplus. Is that not how boreholes work?

If you drink from borehole in Lekki you're drinking raw sewage

Shomek:
Lagos Is Pumping Itself Dry – Boreholes Are A Ticking Time Bomb

Let’s stop pretending.

Boreholes are NOT an unlimited water cheat code.

In Lagos, almost every building now has a borehole. Estates drill. Hotels drill. Churches drill. Companies drill. Everybody is pumping groundwater like it’s immortal.

Who is measuring how much we’re removing?
Who is regulating it?
Who is monitoring aquifer levels?

Nobody.

We’re extracting millions of litres daily from underground reserves that took hundreds or thousands of years to accumulate.

And we think it will never finish?

Lagos is a coastal city. What happens when:

Water tables drop significantly?
Saltwater starts entering freshwater aquifers?
Boreholes start producing salty or muddy water?
The ground begins to sink from over-extraction?
This is not theory. It has happened in:

Jakarta (serious land subsidence issues)
Cape Town (almost hit “Day Zero”)
Chennai (major water shortages)
But here in Lagos, we act like drilling deeper is the solution to everything.

Instead of demanding proper national water infrastructure, we normalized private survival mode.

The real uncomfortable question:

Are we building houses today that may not have sustainable water in 30 years?

Property developers won’t talk about it.
Government barely regulates it.
Homeowners just want water to flow today.

But groundwater doesn’t care about vibes.

So let’s debate honestly:

Should borehole drilling require stricter permits?
Should there be extraction limits?
Should government heavily invest in central water supply instead of leaving citizens to fend for themselves?
Or is this fear-mongering?
Is Lagos gradually creating its own future water crisis?

Let’s hear real opinions — no sentiment.


SOURCE: https://shomek.gt.tc/topic.php/537/lagos-is-pumping-itself-dry-boreholes-are-a-ticking-time-bomb

Nlfpmod

Don't worry yourself much. The acquifier level can drop a little but will never collapse.

Lagos is practically sitting on water and yes the city is getting populated by the day but our land structure and that of abroad is not the same and likewise our weather/atmospheric conditions.

All the rivers, streams around the 37 states in Nigeria flows somehow through Lagos and other seaside states to the Atlantic through different channels and this is seasonal and same water flows back to these states through other channels outside Nigeria. It is a path designed by Nature. It is a circle of in and out flowing so that we are not swallowed up.

It is seasonal cos sometimes, the flow could be high or low. Hence we have drought in some cases but not a complete 100%. Also the rains in addition to this protects against 100% drought.

So even if the water paths are obstructed, instead of the water being stagnant and become polluted, they follow through new parts to connect. That is why some areas get flooded and properties re damaged. The water must flow!!

We should rather be worried that some areas in Lagos does not eventually become overturned by water as such, the Govt should improve on good and effective drainage systems to channel the excess water that comes to enable them find a flowing path to their normal water paths like carnals, etc

People are SLOW in NIGERIA. They don't give a hoot if the water drys up.

They want to start taxing borehole owners in Lagos. That is the very script. Truly people on this platform are essentially slow.

Na TAXATION policy..

Sophisticated beggars

Omoawoke:
No that’s not entirely true..

Imagine you have an opened tank and it has been collecting rain water for several weeks and finally got filled.
Then everyone started to fetch from that tank to bath, and drink…. But the only source of replenishing that water is rainfall..
You will deplete the water from that tank faster than rainfall would ever replace

Good news we have a reserve and thanks to rainfall again

Borehole tax loading

The world is made up of 80% water. Besides, as long as it's raining, water will never dry. Do you know how many liters of rain we get per year. Nobody should come here spiting rubbish