CHAPTER ONE

1.0     Background of study        

According to the oxford English dictionary water is been define as a colorless and transparent,odourless,liquid which form the seas,lakes,rivers and rain it also form the basis of fluid in living organisms. Water is essential to life and its supply, consumption and spatial distribution are closely associated with economic growth and the development of society. Apart from air, water is indispensable to life it is a foundation for human prosperity because adequate and high quality water supplies provide a basis for the growth and development of human social, economic and culture of people (Ward, 1975, Young, 2006). The importance of water to man cannot be overemphasized, it holds the most important benefit to man‟s sustenance beside shelter, food and clothing (Ajadi, 1996) According to Amin and Mahmud, (2011) it is recognized all over the world that water is a vital resource to human existence and that is a major factor in commanding the progress of civilization.

Water is essential in sustaining quality of life on earth, the sustainability of socially sensitive goods such as water depends on effective and efficient use of available water resources. Amin and Mahmud, (2011) also reported that the extensive use of water has increased globally and the efficacy of supply side measure is questionable owing to drastic increase in population, technological advancement and economic growth; the demand for water supplies is continuously increasing, numerous researchers have emphasized on water demand management rather than the supply side management. The water demand study in relation to water supply enables us to estimate how much the increase in demand for water supplies.

Water demand is the quantity that the treatment plant produce in order to meet all water needs in the community. Water demand includes water delivered to the system to meet the need of consumers, water supply for fire fighting and system flushing. On the other hand water supply refers to system for the collection, transmission, treatment, storage and distribution of water Admassu M. (1996).

In other words water is an input that is needed directly or indirectly for the production of goods and services. Water affect the economy of a country in many respect .the monetary value of water reflect only insufficiently the importance of the most relevant natural resource for the world economy.

According to Fabiyi and Ahmed (2011), one of the most important problems of urbanization across the world is that of water supply, because of its role in natural health and economic development. They reported that an important aspect of urban water supply is the understanding of household water demand at the level of household is complex phenomenon which varies on the basis of socio-economic factors. it is reported that the level of water supply in the university environment is poor and due to the absence of well and nearby dam people find it difficult to get water and they go and they go for alternative sources like the few borehole around,rain,and water tankers.

This research work seeks to access the problems of water scarcity and it management in Anyigba as university town. Furthermore it seeks to examine the rate of demand and supply of water in  the area, the availability of water in the area, and the accessibility of water in the area.

1.1     Statement of the problem

Inspite  of  effort being  made by some  residence to make water available in the area by the  building of boreholes on the other hand the  topography and water table also affect the availability of water in anyigba.

Adedayo and Ifabiyi (1999) examined the distribution of water and the role of public agencies in Ilorin, Kwara State. Using descriptive statistics, they found out that unevenness in the distribution of water is as a result of political interference in the activities of the agencies, the localities of highly placed government officer are favoured to the neglect of others. Ijaya (2000) investigated the impact of water shortage and depletion on the productive time of women in Ilorin. The author made use of structured questionnaire, informal interview and participant observation. The result of the study revealed the shortages to inadequate supply of water is due to inefficiency by delivery agent and contamination of water due to poor sanitation. Nsofor (2000) examined the effect of attitude and social-economic characteristics on water based outdoor recreation participation in Benin City using descriptive statistic data. He found out that the use of water base recreation activities is significantly affected by attitude and socio-economic characteristic of users. Sule and Okeola (2002) assessed the performance of a regional water supply management in Ilorin, Kwara State. Using both the descriptive and inferential statistics such a single percentage and correlation analysis. The result of the study revealed that increasing urbanization population and ineffective management of water resources have lead to water crisis.

Kirby (2004), carried out analysis on water scarcity, he revealed that water scarcity is as a result of growth and simultaneous increase in urbanization of the global population threatens to exhaust existing fresh water and the increased in consumer’s demand for amenities such as home dish water and swimming pools

The demand for water has been increasing more than twice the rate of population increases. In the last century and although there is no global water scarcity as such an increasing number of region are chronically short of water (UNDESA 2011)In addiction to this anyigba as a university town due to it increase in population is also facing the issues of water scarcity .

1.2     Aims and objectives of the study

The aim of this study is narrowed towards examining the problems of water scarcity in Anyigba base on:-

·         To analyze the source of water in Anyigba

·        To access the factors affecting water demand and supply in anyigba

·        Examine the relationship  between water demand and supply

1.3     Research question

          what is /are the sources of water in the study area?

          How accessible and available is water in the study area?

1.4     Hypothesis

HI      The mismanagement of water has lead to the scarcity of water in anyigba

HO    The mismanagement of water has not lead to the scarcity of water in anyigba

1.5     SCOPE OF THE STUDY

          The length of the study is carried out within the context of the university town (Anyigba) mostly around the university area. Base on the assessment of the problems of water scarcity and it management in the area. The depth of the study  covers issues relating to the accessibility of water, availability of water, the demand and supply of water.

1.6     LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Due to the time frame there wasn’t enough time for the research to cover specific aspect of water scarcity, this research is just base on the summary of the assessing the problems of water scarcity and it management. The next researcher should be more specific in dealing with the problems of water scarcity in specific way and come up with possible solution towards these problems, as this will help the residence of anyigba

Accessing the study however depends on having access to people and documents due to the timeframe they were not really enough times, and sometimes access were being denied due people busy schedule and preparation for exams.

1.7     STUDY AREA

1.7.1  LOCATION

The study area covers Anyigba  town in dekina local government Area in kogi state Anyigba is a prominent town in okura district .Anyigba lies on the latitiudes of 7.15 and 7.29 N  of the equator and longitudes 7.11 and 7 .32.E of the green which meritdian and withn an  average altitude of 420 meters above sea level (ifatimehin et al,2009) The town is located almost at the center of dekina local government area and it is borded in the north by Ajiolo,Abocho,Biradu village .Abejukolo,Egume and Agbeji to the south .Abadigba to the east and Ofugulu and Owowolo in the west .Anyigba is located in a central place of the igala nodal  settlement.anyigba on the other hand can also be refer to as the university town because it is the seat of the kogi state university anyigba ,which has contributed to the social economic development and population of the area............................