Water Resources Act.

This Act vests the right to use and control all surface and groundwater and all water in any watercourse affecting more than one state, together with the banks and beds thereof, in the Federal Government (sect. 1). The purposes for this vesting are listed as the promotion of planning, development and use of Nigeria's water resources; coordination of activities likely to influence the quality, quantity, use, distribution and management of water; the application of appropriate standards and techniques for use, protection, etc.; and technical assistance and rehabilitation for water supplies (sect. 1). Notwithstanding the vesting of water resources in the federal government, persons may take water for a variety of uses, including domestic uses, the watering of livestock, fishing and navigation, and the irrigation of land over which they have rights of occupancy (sect. 2). Section 4 gives the Secretary power to control the use or taking of groundwater by various means, including defining the places from where and means by which it can be abstracted; fixing of limits on amounts used; prohibiting the taking or use of water from particular sources to protect health; etc. In discharging his duties, the Secretary is required to have regard for a number of matters, including the need to make provision for adequate supplies of water, control of flooding, the reclamation of land, the protection of inland fisheries, flora and fauna, etc. (sect. 5).
Furthermore, the Secretary is required to draw up from time to time a comprehensive master plan for the development, use, control, protection, management and administration of all water resources (sect. 6). Funds for any water project may be withheld if it has not been included in the master plan (sect. 7). Under section 8 of the Act, certain powers of the Secretary are set forth, including the power to prohibit the storage, diversion, pumping or use of any water or the construction, operation, etc., of any borehole or hydraulic works; to require information regarding boreholes or hydraulic works; to prohibit usages of land or water that are likely to interfere with the quantity and quality of water; to supply or sell raw water to any person or public authority; etc. No diversion, storage or use of water on a commercial scale can be undertaken without a licence issued pursuant to the Act (sect. 9). Sections 11-19 deal with the issuing of such licences, licensing fees, the power to fix rates in connection with the abstraction of water, penalties and the issuing of regulations. A schedule to the Act lists water sources which affect more than one state.