An Investigation of Potable Water Supply Problems in Akinima Community, Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) recognizes clean water as a major factor that determines development and promotes livelihood and human well-being, thus it set time-bound target for overcoming non –availability and non-potability of drinking water. A Scenario that is prevalent in developing countries including Nigeria. The aim of this paper is to investigate the potability of drinking water in Akinima Community, a rural community in Ahoada West Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State. The community like many other rural communities in Nigeria has no pipe-borne water supply. The major sources of drinking water are harvested rainwater, water from boreholes, and rivers. These sources are indentified to have varied problems of contamination and pollution, which range from high levels of chemical and microbiological contamination of harvested rainwater and rivers respectively, to saline intrusion into river water sources. Point sources and non-point sources of water contamination/pollution are common. With the current state of affairs meeting the MDGs target of “Halving, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water” is a mirage. The research design for the study is basically survey design and experimental design. The instruments used for investigation are questionnaire survey, face to face interview and observation. Experimentation was done in the laboratory to investigate physical, chemical and microbiological samples of drinking water from the households in Akinima community. Both primary and secondary data are applied for the study. The sample size is statistically determined using Taro Yamani’s formula for a finite population. The basic sampling unit (BSU) is the household. Sampling techniques applied are both systematic sampling and random sampling for selection of house-types and households respectively. Descriptive and inferential statistics are applied to investigate the data. Major findings revealed that the three major drinking water sources are not safe for drinking, because the values are significantly difference from the National Drinking Water Quantity Standard (NDWQS) 2007. The paper recommends the development of technologies that should harness rainwater harvesting and the introduction of active Civil Society Organization (CSOs) interventions/participation in rural water supply in Akinima Community among others.