Comparative Analysis of Access to Water supply in threeCommunities in Rivers State.

Gordon T. AMANGABARA*, John D. Njoku (Ph.D), Martins C. IwujiDept of Environmental Technology, School of EnvironmentalTechnologyFederal University of Technology, Owerri

* Corresponding/Lead AuthorAmangabara@yahoo.com+234 803 309 4635

ABSTRACT:

The United Nations General Assembly, at its Millenniummeeting in 2000, established eight Millennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs) with targets to be achieved by 2015, with theaim of speeding up poverty alleviation and socio-economicdevelopment. The MDGs were elaborated and endorsed by theintergovernmental community at the World Summit onSustainable Development, convened in Johannesburg in 2002.Water quality management contributes both directly andindirectly to achieving the targets set out in all eightMDGs, although it is most closely tied to specific targets ofthe goal 7: Halve by 2015 the proportion of people withoutsustainable access to safe drinking water and basicsanitation. Providing safe and secure water to people aroundthe world, and promoting sustainable use of water resourcesare therefore fundamental objectives of the MillenniumDevelopment Goals. This paper examined the possibility ofachieving the above target in Nigeria with particularreference to the provision of portable water supply in threecommunities in Rivers State: Old Township Area of PortHarcourt City, Okrika Mainland - Okrika LGA (representing anurban settlement) and Bolo in Ogu/Bolo LGA (representing asemi-urban settlement). Groundwater was identified as themain source of water supply in the three communities. Thestudy further investigated the rate of abstraction and the

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quality of abstracted ground water and found that the shareof people using drinking water from improved sources hasrisen but there is a disparity in the quality of waterbetween urban and rural areas, whereas it is reported thatcity dwellers are twice as likely to have safe water as theirrural counterparts, this is not the case in Rivers State.

Keywords: Groundwater, abstraction, quality, quantity, MDGs,Sustainable, Sanitation

1. Background:

Eleven years ago, leaders from every country agreed on a

vision for the future – a world with less poverty, hunger and

disease, greater survival prospects for mothers and their

infants, better educated children, equal opportunities for

women, and a healthier environment; a world in which

developed and developing countries worked in partnership for

the betterment of all. This vision took the shape of eight

Millennium Development Goals (MDG), which are providing

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countries around the world a framework for development and

time-bound targets by which progress can be measured. The

MDGs were elaborated and endorsed by the intergovernmental

community at the World Summit on Sustainable Development,

convened in Johannesburg in 2002. A key consideration was

that water quality management contributes both directly and

indirectly to achieving the targets set out in all eight

MDGs, although it is most closely tied to specific targets of

the goal 7, to halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable

access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

In line with the MDGs goal on sustainable water supply, the

Federal Government in 2003 launched the Presidential Water

Initiative programme “Water for people, water for Life” The

target of the programme was to improve access to safe

drinking water in the country to 65% by the year 2007, 85% by

2011 and 100% by 2015. To match words with action, Government

invested over N80 billion in 2006 from the parlous N8 billion

in 1999, external support for the programmed rose to about

US$25m in the same year.

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Dividends of this investment showed in many States including

Imo State where it was reported that 83.7% now have access to

safe drinking water in Aboh Mbaise LGA and generally, access

to safe drinking water in rural areas in Imo State increased

to 45% in 2010 ( Emeka, 2010). However, there are still

institutional reports indicating freshwater scarcity ranking

among the most urgent environmental challenges of this

century in Nigeria especially in urban and semi urban areas

(UNEP, 2011; UNDP & IFAD, 2006; WHO/UNICEFJMP, 2004).

The reports highlight that 1.1 billion people lack sufficient

access to safe drinking water, and 2.6 billion people lack

access to basic sanitation and apart from being unevenly

distributed in time and space, water is also unevenly

distributed among various socio-economic strata of society in

both rural and urban settlements. This distribution is likely

to have direct impact on people’s health as well as their

livelihood opportunities.

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The United Nations estimate for rural Areas is

40L/capita/day. Emeka (2010) reported that the Nigerian

National Policy on water supply and sanitation of January

2000 sets the following consumer standards:

i. 30 litres/capita/day with 250m for rural Areas

ii. 60 litres/capita/day with pipeline reticulation &

house connection for semi-urban areas.

iii. 120 litres/capita/day serviced with full reticulation

and consumer premises.

Whereas it is estimated that daily water use per inhabitant

totals 600 litres in residential areas in North America and

Japan and between 250 and 350 litres in Europe.

2. The Observed Situation in Port Harcourt, Okrika and

Ogu/Bolo LGA of

Rivers State:

In a study conducted between August 2010 and July 2011 with

the objective of investigating access to portable water

supply in three communities in Rivers State [Port Harcourt

City, Okrika Mainland (urban Settlement), Bolo (Semi-urban

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settlement)] vis-à-vis the quality of water abstracted;

showed an interesting result ( Tables 1, 2 and 3).

3. Access to Portable Water Supply:

Port Harcourt City

There are ten major water supply/extraction points

(Government Pumping Stations owned by Water Works) in Port

Harcourt namely Rumuola Pumping Station, Diobu, Moscow Road,

Borikiri, Ernest Ikoli Street (Old GRA), Olumeni ( Old GRA),

Trans Amadi, Woji, Elelenwo and Rumukwurushi. These pumping

stations effectively supplied water last some fifteen years

ago. As a result of this problem every household operates her

own private borehole or visit the nearest commercial private

borehole. While the government well are sunk to an average

depth of 250m, the private boreholes are between 25m and 50m

making them susceptible to contamination

Average water consumption data was difficult to obtain

because the government pumping stations do not have formal

metering for domestic customers but only for industrial

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customers who have since constructed their own private

boreholes from which they obtain water. More so, they

functioned last some fifteen to eighteen years ago. However,

of the 1000 households that were administered with

questionnaire; 96% of them operate their private boreholes

and have storage tank of 20,000 litres which is pumped twice

for home use and seven times a week for the private

(commercial) boreholes for selling to public, washing of cars

and rugs, this translate to an average of 230l/day which is

within the United Nation target supply.

Okrika Mainland ( Okrika Local Government Area)

There are two major water pumping stations in this area

provided by the Local Council and the Port Harcourt Refinery

servicing about fifteen communities. In addition, private

bore holes are also sunk in the area to provide water to

households. The depth of the government well is 320m and

private boreholes are just between 25m and 45m

Bolo Town (Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area)

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Water supply in Bolo Town is provided by two pumping Stations

provided by the Federal Government and managed by the

Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area Council. The depths of the

wells are 340m and 280m respectively. There are three

Neighbourhood Water Scheme provided by the Bolo Community

(these are put into use when ever the Government pumping

stations fail. for example, when there is no diesel to power

the generator pumping the water) the average depth of these

boreholes is between 80m and 120m. Water supply is adequate

in this community, although there a few private boreholes,

they owners of these boreholes still rely on the public water

supply in the community.

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Fig. 1 Map of Rivers Sate showing LGAs and the study areas

4. Water Quality and Water Usage in the Study Area

Water samples collected during the study period were analysed

for water quality and the presence of pollutants and compared

with both the World Health organization (WHO) and the

Nigerian National drinking water standards. The Nigerian

Industrial Standard (NIS) 554:2207 deals with standards for

drinking water quality nationally. The standard was developed

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by the Ministry of Health, working through a technical

committee of key stakeholders.

Table 1. Groundwater Quality in three Selected

Communities in Rivers State.

Parameters PHC (Town Area) Okrika Mainland

Bolo Town

Aquifer Type:

Govt. Lower

Lower Lower

Private Upper Upper

Average Depth (m)

Govt: 250 320

310

Private: 35 - 55 25-45

60

Temp. (0C) 28 27.8 27

pH (6.5 – 8.5) 6.80 6.2

7

10

Chloride (250mg/l) 35.90 63.90

35.5

Iron (0.3mg/l) 0.120 0.2

0.04

Elect Cond. (500 μs/cm) 90 300 19

Hardness 18 20 16

TDS (500mg/l) 34 100 18

TSS (N/S) 0 0 0

T.Coliform (cfu/g) 6.8 x 10 2 – 4.2 x 10 5 4.2 x 10 5

– 1.6x10 3 2.4x10 5 – 1.4 x10 3

* Values in parenthesis are World Health Organisation (2004)limits* values are mean of all sample collection

Table 2 Presence of PAHs in Groundwater in three Communities

in Rivers State

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PAHs PHC (Town Area) Okrika Mainland Bolo Town

Naphthalene - 0.52510

-

Acenaphthylene - 0.18837 -

Acenapththene - 0.88317 -

Fluorene - 0.20438 -

Phenathrene - 0.26732 -

Anthracene - 0.25084 -

Benzo (a) anthracene - 0.488975

-

Benzo (b) fluorathene - 0.5008440

-

Benzo (k) fluoranthene - 0.0237385 -

Pyrene - 0.0508440 - * Values are mean concentration of samples in the area

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Table 3. Access to Water Supply in some selected Areas in

our study Communities.

Areas Public Supply Privately own Commercial

Boreholes Mobile Supply

Port Harcourt:

- Borikiri - 210 280

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- Old Township Area - 150 50

12

- Marine Base - 120 12

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- Okrika Waterside - 125 4

-

Okrika Mainland

Ekerekana Ama 100 6 - -

Okochiri 120 4 - -

13

Dakar Ama 50 2

- -

Bolo

Old Town square 250 - -

-

Ward 7 500 - -

-

St. Michaels Area 350 -

- -

New Layout 280 -

- -

Source: Fieldwork

The results showed that borehole water in the Port Harcourt

area have high concentrations of microbial contaminants

possibly from the many waste dump sites around. The borehole

water in the Okrika mainland area is mainly polluted with

petroleum products such as the BTEX family (i.e. benzene,

toluene, ethyl benzene, xylene and PAHs) which are very

carcinogenic. The people in the Okrika Mainland area though

have adequate supply of water; the supply is not safe and

secure. People in the area are exposed to the petroleum

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contaminated groundwater when used for bathing, washing,

cooking and drinking. The presence of petroleum pollutant in

the ground waters of Okrika Mainland may be connected to the

activities of the oil refinery as well as artisanal oil

refining ( illegal oil bunkering) activities in the area.

5 Challenges

Results show that there is increased access to water but this

did not translate to increase in “sustainable access to safe

drinking water and basic sanitation”. The basic challenge is

government willingness at the State and Local Government

level to invest in the water sector. It is embarrassing that

Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers State can not boast of

effective pumping stations to supply portable water to its

teeming population.

Weak Institutional framework is also another challenge. The

various regulatory bodies charged with monitoring and

evaluating private boreholes and erection of overhead tanks

have not done their jobs. Ownership roles especially at

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Community and Local Government levels of water projects are

poorly defined

Activities in and around boreholes is a major determinant to

the quality of water abstracted. For example, the Town area

of Port Harcourt is mainly reclaimed land, so sandy soil is

the predominant soil type. Many private boreholes within the

area are serviced by leachates from dumpsites as wells as

from Sewers and septic tanks, this explains the heavy

presence of microbial contaminants (pathogenic

microorganisms) like Streptococcus, E.coli; Pseudomonas, Bacillus,

Micrococcus etc. In the Okrika Mainland area, it is a clear case

of Artisanal refining.

Government inability to effectively manage her Water Board in

supplying safe and adequate drinking water as well as its

cavalier approach to check indiscriminate sinking of

boreholes is a complete disregard and a threat to the Right

to Sustainable Access to Safe drinking water. Beyond the

legal sense of water as a human right, many critical

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questions remain for meaningful implementation, for example

what aspects should such a right entail? The obligation not

to pollute is not sufficiently emphasized and minimum rights

to water (for example 40l/capita/day) can provide excuses for

government.

6 Way Forward

There should be community ownership of these water projects

to enhance continuity. A good example is the Bolo Community.

They run their water facility themselves in the last twenty

years. Communities should be involved in the selection,

planning and implementation of their water projects.

Government at all levels should have clear cut policy on the

provision of “safe” drinking water and ensure compliance with

this policy. The General Comment (15) of the Committee on

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the United Nations

Economic and Social Council unequivocally expresses that it

is the responsibility of government to deliver clean water

and adequate sanitation.

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7 Summary and Conclusion

Through its General Comment 15, the Committee on Economic,

Social and Cultural Rights of the United Nations Economic and

Social Council stated: The human right to water entitles

everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically

accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic

uses” The United Nations affirmed the right to water on the

26/11/2002, noting that such a right is “indispensable for

leading a life in human dignity” and “ a prerequisite for the

realization of other human rights”.

While the right to water has been implicit in the rights to

health, housing, food, life and dignity already enshrined in

other international conventions, such as the International

Bill of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the

Child, The General Comment 15 is the first to focus

explicitly on the right to water and the responsibilities

that government have in delivering clean water and adequate

sanitation services to all. Incidentally the international

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community has for a long time explicitly acknowledged human

right to food. However, people continue to die of starvation

and nearly a billion people remain under nourished, does

explicitly acknowledging a human right to water makes a

practical difference in people’s lives? What we need is

action!

Water is a renewable resource, as it reproduces itself

through the hydrological cycle. While there is plenty of

freshwater at the global scale, there is a challenge of

having sufficient water, of the right quality, at the right

place and at the right time. The MDG target to halve by 2015

the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe

drinking water and basic sanitation in Nigeria may not be

achieved giving the lack of proper direction at the State and

Local government level. It is a little embarrassing that the

government of Rivers State waited until UNEP came up with

their report on Ogoniland on the poor quality of water supply

to come up with a programme of water supply to Okrika and

Eleme Communities. It is a truism that access to water has

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increased tremendously but such access to drinking water is

hampered by activities that contaminate and pollute the water

sources. The study found that the share of people using and

having access to drinking water has risen but the disparity

in the quality of water is in favour with semi urban/rural

areas with motorized boreholes than the urban and city areas.

References

Emeka, U (2010) Rural Water Supply and the MDGs: Asustainable Approach. Paper

presented at the Conference of the Association ofProfessional Women Engineers

of Nigeria (APWEN) Owerri Chapter

Standards Organization of Nigeria (2007). Nigerian Standardfor Drinking Water Quality.

NIS 554: 2007 Retrieved on the 17th July 2010 fromwww.unicef.org/nigeria/ng

publications Nigerian Standard for Drinking WaterQuality. pdf

UNDP/IFAD ( 2006). United Nations Development Programme andInternational Fund

for Agricultural Development. Linking land and watergovernance, Farmers’

views. World Water Week, Stockholm Water Sypomsium.

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UNEP (2011) Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland. Nairobi,Kenya.

WHO/UNICEP JMP(2004). World Health Organisation and UnitedNations Children’s

Fund Joint Monitoring Programme: Meeting the MDGDrinking Water and

Sanitation Target: A Mid term Assessment. JointMonitoring Programme for

Water Supply and Sanitation, Geneva.

WHO (2004). Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality. Volume 1: Recommendations. 3rd

edition. WHO, Geneva.

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