A Pragmatic Study on Water Reticulation in Lautech Ogbomoso, Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Water obviously play an importance role in our day to day life. Water distribution system is faced with myriads of challenges such as increasing water demand, limited resources, aging supply pipes that often result in water leakages. The supply of water could no longer fulfil the required demand of water supply with increase in the population of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH). This study therefore examined water distribution in LAUTECH Ogbomoso campus. Primary and secondary data were used for this research. The primary data were sourced from registry, physical planning and work units of LAUTECH Ogbomoso, (8.13333⁰ N, 4.26667⁰ E), while the secondary data were from Global Positioning System (GPS) and google satellite imagery of LAUTECH campus. Field survey was conducted, from which the GPS point of each water source (Borehole) was obtained on the field. The study area has 14 boreholes and 3 wells, the distribution mains PVC pipes of diameter ranging from 50mm to 300mm. Spatial distribution of building with access to water and unmet water demand were determined. The secondary data were digitized using ArcGIS to produced variability map. The map showed that the water demand of each building per person was averagely estimated as 54.67 litres per day. The lowest water demand falls within 0-18 litre/day, while the highest falls within 391-2350 litre/day. The study revealed that the existing water distribution and infrastructure of LAUTECH is no longer sustainable.