Access to and Nature of Drinking Water: A case Study of Kafin Hausa Town, Jigawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

There is global concern on the status and nature of drinking water in both developed and developing nations. About 25% of the African populations are experiencing water stress, sanitation, accessibility and availability. This study assessed the sources and nature of drinking water as well as spatial distribution of hand pumps and overhead tanks as the major source of domestic water in the study area. The primary data consist of hand pumps and overhead tanks coordinates collected using GPS using their number and addresses to create spatial database of facilities in Microsoft excel environment. The data were analyzed using spatial overlay and query operations, where the spatial database of water facilities was imported into ArcGIS. However, structured questionnaire were administered to assess the perceptions on the state of drinking water in the area as well as its nature, sources and associated diseases in relation to drinking water. The study revealed that hand pump constitutes 54% as the major supplier of domestic water in the area, followed by tap water 21% connected to the overhead tanks. However, 49% of the respondents attested that water is good for drinking. About 73% of the respondents relate typhoid fever with nature of the drinking water.