ACCESS TO IMPROVED WATER AND SANITATION FACILITIES IN OIL BEARING COMMUNITIES OF ILAJE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, NIGERIA

Abstract

Abundant as it may seem, in the coastal area of Ilaje LGA of Nigeria, access to improved water and sanitation is a great challenge. Water and sanitation have direct impact on human health and any deterioration in quality affects human wellbeing. Lack of access to safe water is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Nevertheless, a considerable number of people around the world lack access to safe drinking water. Hence, the need to investigate the accessibility of residents to safe water and sanitation facilities in the oil bearing communities. There were 12 functional wells. 11 non-functional boreholes and 1 functional public stand tap, 4 creeks and 2 functional hand pump boreholes in the study area. A random sampling of 6 communities was made, 360 copies of questionnaire were administered which provided information on the existing condition of water and sanitation issues in the area. A total of 12 water samples were collected from both surface and groundwater sources to test for the physiochemical properties of the water sources. The water quality parameters were analyzed in accordance to standard methods. The water analysis reviewed includes pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), turbidity, and hardness. Others include inorganic chemical constituents and the presence of coli form organisms. Results indicated that the parameters measured are inconsistent with the minimum and maximum permissible limit of the World Health Organization (WHO) for domestic water. In addition, 66.4% of the residents lacked access to 20litres/person/day while 54.4% lacked access to basic sanitation service. Furthermore, available water and sanitation facilities were predominated by creeks and shallow well water sources, public toilet facilities were averagely used by 7-10 households. This evident widespread lack of improved water and sanitation facilities in the area showed that most of the residents in the area were denied access to full spectrum of basic and essential environmental sanitation facilities. The overall implication of these observations call for the provision and sustenance of improved water resources and sanitation management strategies for the study area in order to prevent associated risk and environmental hazard.