(ERGO) – Abshir Osman Mohamed and his family have depended up to now on getting their water from families owning a water pan in this rural part of central Somalia’s Adado district.
But the ongoing, devastating invasion of locusts across Galgadud region, as well as other Somali regions, has led to an acute shortage of clean water – spurring Abshir to invest in other arrangements.
“The locust invasion has affected everyone,” Abshir told Radio Ergo. “We can no longer get clean water in this area.”
Rural water pans are uncovered small reservoirs dug into the ground to collect rainwater. Numerous water pans in Adado have been infested by swarms of locusts.
Abshir decided to make his own water pan with a cover. He invested 300 dollars in buying PVC tarpaulin materials from Adado and is planning to dig, line, and cover the facility to protect it from the locusts.
Abdullahi Moallin Isse, the owner of an open water pan in Jaq-dhagaysato, seven kilometres outside Adado town, wishes that he had taken effective measures to prevent his water from being spoiled.
His family of eight can no longer draw fresh drinking water because the pan has been clogged up by locusts that blanketed the water and drowned in it.
“It is as if an animal has died in there!” Abdullahi complained. “If you touch the water the stink stays with you even if you wash your hands with soap.”
His pan had filled with enough rainwater to last them until the next rains. But it has all gone to waste and Abdullahi is being forced to start buying water.
Abdisalan Farah Gaab, a livestock herder in Barag-galanbe, eight kilometres from town, was also caught unprepared.
The locusts swarmed over his water pan for two whole days, covering the surface and dropping into the water in masses.
Despite having witnessed similar problems in last October’s deyr season, when the locusts first arrived, Abdisalan said that none of the 40 families owning water pans in the area had acted to protect their reservoirs.
“Perhaps we could have put clothes on top as a cover. We can’t think of anything else we could have done to ward off the locusts,” he said.
In desperation, Abdisalan tried the dubious remedy of adding fuel to the already contaminated pan.
“We removed the dead locusts from the water and added a mix of kerosene. The taste of the water was starting to come back, but the colour was still dark,” he admitted.
“We had about 50 barrels of water in there that we can’t use now. We just have to replace all the water.”
Meanwhile, Abshir Osman Mohamed is hoping to recoup the investment he has made in his covered pan by selling water at $1 per barrel.
He hopes his strategy will secure his family’s water needs, make some money, and also inspire others to protect their precious water reserves from future locust invasions.
The agriculture minister for Galmudug state, Ahmed Haqi Osman, told Radio Ergo that they had been conducting spraying interventions in some areas, including around water sources, to deal with the locusts.
“The spray we use is not harmful to humans. We spray on top and around the water sources as a preventative measure, but when the locusts enter the water there is not much we can do,” he said.
