WATER SCARCITY.docx - THE ASSESSMENT OF WATER AVAILABILITY...

THE ASSESSMENT OF WATER AVAILABILITY AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
IN EKITI STATE, NIGERIA
Introduction
Water is imperative for the survival of humans and ecosystems, as well as for
socioeconomic growth and development (Adamu, 2017). Nigeria aspires to achieve 100% access
to water supplies by 2030, as the population hits 257.8 million people, in compliance with the
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Adamu, 2017). According to available
figures, in 2015, 69 % of the population had access to improved water sources (Adamu, 2017),
whereas only 2 % of the Nigerian population had access to piped water (Adamu, 2017);
(Adebowale, 2017). Water supply has dropped from 14 % in 1990 (World Health Organization
(WHO, 1990); United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) (2010). Water scarcity is described as
the lack of a consistent supply of an acceptable quantity and quality of water for health,
livelihoods, and productivity, along with an inability to access it. Access to safe drinking water is
one of the most basic human requirements and a necessity for health and sustainability
(Schirding, 2001; Oyebode et al., 2018).
Household connection, public standpipe, bore hole, protected dug well, protected spring,
and rain water collection were identified as improved water sources by the World Health
Organization (WHO, 2004) and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund
(UNICEF) (2004), while unimproved sources included unprotected well, unprotected spring,
river or pond, vendor-provided water, bottled water, and tanker-truck water. As a result of the
failure to provide safe water, a huge proportion of people have turned to potentially dangerous
sources of water. For the billions of people trapped in a cycle of poverty and disease, the
consequences of this collective failure are bleak (Oyebode et al., 2018). More than half of the
hospital beds in the globe are filled with patients suffering from water-borne infections,
according to Oyebode et al. (2018). According to Oyebode et al. (2018), polluted water is
responsible for around 80% of all infections and more than one-third of all deaths in
impoverished nations. It has been established that adequate supply of safe drinking water could
reduce the prevalence of various illnesses and deaths by up to 75% (Oyebode et al., 2018).
UNICEF and WHO (2004); (Oyebode et al., 2018) observed that the quantity of water and the
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nearness of the supply point to the residential houses are more important than actual water
quality in improving health since the quantity collected from such distant source is likely to be
too minimal for effectual hygiene. According to studies, having clean water within a one-
kilometer radius of one's home improves one's health since people use significantly more water
for cleaning and washing Oyebode et al. (2018). In Nigeria, a larger share of the population lacks
access to potable water. Around 71 % of persons living in rural regions do not have access to safe
drinking water, while only 42 % of those living in urban and semi-urban areas do (Ehinomen et
al., 2018). Nigeria, on the other hand, has abundant surface and subterranean water resources.