OVERCOMING SCARCITY OF WATER

PIPE BORNE WATER PROJECT

ABOUT ME

Born May 13th, 1980 at Mushin, Lagos State to the family of Adewale from Irewole Local Government, Osun State, Nigeria. My name is Opeyemi Adewale residing at 16, Obisesan Street Idi Orogbo Estate off Ade Oyo Ring Road State Hospital, Oyo State Nigeria. I am a Nigerian currently working as a Public Servant in a Federal Government agency in Oyo State, Nigeria.

This project chronicles the many adverse effects that the disappearance of pipe borne water has on the occupants of rural settlements and the need for the construction of numerous pipe borne water project to cater for the water-needs of the populace.

INTRODUCTION

Without doubt, water remains a crucial part of anyone’s life. The reason is not far-fetched, its collective use in industrial, domestic and agricultural purposes are entirely necessary in our lives especially at the domestic level where attempts should be made at providing good drinkable water which is sacrosanct to individuals and the households as a way of making certain that there is existence of healthy livelihood, freedom from diseases, even untimely deaths which may arise from water-related diseases. Hence, ascertaining that good drinkable water is easily accessible to people is therefore, supreme.

Also, given the importance of water to health care, well being and productivity, people’s willingness to use and pay for it has continued to climb an all-time high over the years. Particularly as most households do not have access to it, despite its global importance. For instance, according to the World Book, the earth alone has about 326 million cubic mile (1.4 billion cubic kilometer of water and in a cubic mile alone, there are more than 3.8 billion of water.

THE NEED FOR PIPE BORNE WATER IN RURAL SETTLEMENTS

In modern Nigeria, the ongoing trends evidence the fact that accessibility to improved water supply is very biased – very much in favour of urban areas. A situation that arose when the colonial administration endeavored to use improved water supply as a means of controlling the spread of certain diseases in urban areas. Furthermore, Abeokuta was first to be supplied with pipe-borne water in 1911, followed by Lagos (1914), Enugu (1925), Kaduna (1930), Akure (1931), Jos (1935), Okene (1936), and Port Harcourt (1937). By 1953, 29 towns had been supplied with potable water and, by 1960, the number had risen to sixty-seven. It rose to 261 by 1977 (Wikipedia).

In Nigeria today, rural households which depend on streams are about 36 per cent, compared with only 3.63 per cent for urban and 19.53 per cent for semi-urban locations. Hand-dug wells provide water for 23.5 per cent of households in urban areas, 27.6 per cent in semi-urban and 41.9 per cent in rural locations. Some 1.68 per cent of urban households depend on boreholes. Comparable figures for semi-rural and rural areas are 3.13 per cent and 5.56 per cent respectively. In 1997 when all settlements irrespective of sizes were taken together, only about 24.74 per cent of all households in Nigeria had access to pipe-borne water. By 1999 the households which depended on boreholes, wells and stream/ponds were, respectively, 15.41 per cent, 27.62 per cent, and 32.23 per cent. Thus, the provision of potable water still demands government's prompt and sustained attention (World Bank, 2002).

The inability of most households to have access to pipe borne water or demand for sufficient pipe borne water can be linked to several factors that can be viewed from both macro and micro levels. At the macro level, factors such as the scarcity of water, the cost of purchase of water, large geographical coverage.

It is hoped that this project (i.e. constructing state of the art pipe borne water in my neighborhoods) water would, more than anything, serve, in no small way, as an outlet for the provision of good water for domestic, industrial and agricultural use in rural settlements. It will also go a long way in making for nutritious need with the provision of food devoid of diseases or viruses.

Thank you immensely as you donate your widow’s mite towards the proposed construction of a state of the art pipe borne water in my neighborhoods to alleviate and exterminate the scarcity cum dearth of hygienic water. Kindly support this noble and humanitarian service to a needy community.