Residents of Angwan Baro, tucked behind Sagbagyi Palace along Mission Road in Sabo, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, are at risk daily while searching for water.

For these residents, access to water is not a basic right; it is a daily battle for survival they must endure.

At dawn and late into the night, men, women and children can be seen moving in large numbers, searching for water, clutching jerrycans and buckets.

For many families, the simple act of getting water comes with risks.

Children cross busy roads, while pregnant women, nursing mothers, the elderly and even infants are exposed to health hazards in a desperate bid to secure what should be a basic necessity.

Relief only comes during the rainy season, between May and October, when residents harvest rainwater and their shallow wells temporarily refill.

But once the dry season sets in, the struggle returns with full force.

“We are suffering here during the dry season. Most households depend on wells, but they dry up barely a month after the rains stop.

“Boreholes are too expensive for many of us, yet water is life. We cannot survive without it,” a resident who preferred anonymity said.

The growing number of private boreholes in the community has also created unintended consequences.

According to residents, the more boreholes are drilled, the faster nearby wells dry up, deepening the crisis for families who cannot afford to drill their own.

Another resident expressed frustration over what she described as uneven government intervention.

“We are appealing to the Kaduna State Government under Governor Uba Sani to come to our aid.

“Water pipes were replaced in parts of this same Angwan Baro last year (2025), but this upper area has been left out.

“Even where pipes were installed, water supply is irregular, forcing people to keep drilling boreholes,” she said.

She contrasted their situation with that of nearby Janruwan, where residents reportedly enjoy a more stable public water supply, thereby reducing their dependence on boreholes.

“Here, the constant drilling worries us. It may expose future generations to environmental risks. Government must take this seriously,” she added.

An elderly resident, simply identified as Baba Linus, lamented that his suffering had been ongoing for about six years when the number of boreholes around his house surged.

“This building where we are fetching water now belongs to a non-governmental organisation, and they extend their borehole outside for us.

“They have been giving us water for three years, even with erratic electricity supply. Sometimes, they fuel their generator just to give us water for free. We are grateful to them.

“But my concern is that, with the population of people who come here to fetch water in the morning and evening, how sustainable is this? For how long will this single borehole serve us? He asked.

Perhaps the situation in Angwan Baro reflects a broader challenge across many communities in Kaduna State, where access to safe and reliable water remains inconsistent.

Years after the Kaduna State government restructured the state’s water system into the Kaduna State Water Corporation (KADSWAC), expectations of improved service delivery are yet to be fully realised. (The Sun)