The management of the Enugu State Water Corporation (ESWC) has appealed to motorists and other road users in the state to exercise patience with it and use alternative routes to avoid traffic gridlock caused by the ongoing replacement of damaged water pipes around the Holy Ghost Cathedral/Ogbete Market axis.

The Corporation said the major pipes replacement work would ensure the availability of high pressure water around Uwani, New Haven, Ogui Layouts and their environs.

The appeal was made in a press statement issued by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Water and Waste Management, Mr. Andreas Gebauer in Enugu on Tuesday,

Noting that the work had already commenced, the statement added that the project was expected to last for two weeks from Saturday, February 24, 2024, when the work commenced, stressing that alternative roads afforded by the present administration would ease movements of persons and goods.

“There are ongoing major excavations and replacement of 450mm Asbestos Cement (AC) pipes with Ductile Iron Pipe along the Holy Ghost area. The Corporation wishes to inform the public that the work, which has already commenced, will last till the next two weeks from the date of commencement.

“We appeal to the general public to exercise patience with the corporation during this period as it is likely to cause traffic gridlock along the Holy Ghost axis,” the statement reads in part.

It would be recalled that there had been several cases of major pipes bursts since the increase of water production from occasional 2 million litres to over 120 million a day by the Governor Peter Mbah Administration in November 2023.

The bursts were as a result of weak and damaged asbestos pipes laid in the colonial days, which are unable to stand water pressure required to service Enugu metropolis effectively.