Rainwater Harvesting in Ibadan City, Nigeria: Socio-economic Survey and Common Water Supply Practices

Omolara Lade^1, and David Oloke^2,

¹Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

²Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom

Cite this paper

Omolara Lade and David Oloke. Rainwater Harvesting in Ibadan City, Nigeria: Socio-economic Survey and Common Water Supply Practices. American Journal of Water Resources. 2015; 3(3):61-72. doi: 10.12691/AJWR-3-3-1

Abstract

The largest environmental challenge that Nigeria is facing today is water scarcity. Current water use already exceeds renewable supply. Many methods have been suggested to increase the sources of water supply; and one of these alternative sources is rainwater harvesting (RWH). Rainfall harvesting from rural/urban catchments has received little attention in Nigeria. To better understand common practises in the RWH community and motivation for collecting harvested rainwater a socio-demographic survey was conducted in the 11 local government areas of Ibadan city in Nigeria to determine the rate of water consumption and supply from current water sources. The methodology adopted was the mixed method approach, involving a detailed literature review, followed by a questionnaire survey of 1067 household respondents. The data collected through the survey were analysed using SPSS and selected statistical methods such as Chi-square test. The survey was carried out from July-September 2012 and a response rate of 89% (950 households) was recorded. The survey questions focused on the socio-economic characteristics of households and the sources of water supply, catchment materials, rainwater harvesting technology, purpose of RWH, demand and usage of water, effectiveness of management strategy and environmental health. The most commonly reported source of water supply is groundwater with>83.8% of respondents depend on it as their main source of supply, which are vulnerable to drought and pollution while only 6.6% harvest rainwater. 69% of the respondents have corrugated iron sheet while <14% of the respondent’s roof are made of roofing tiles and cement concrete respectively. 54% of those with roofing tiles use the harvested water for drinking, while 43% of those with cement roofs use it for cooking and drinking respectively. A larger proportion (61.2%) of respondents chose prevalence of typhoid fever in the study area; some have a prevalence of diarrhoea (19.4%), while few of respondents’ water sources is free from water-borne diseases (2.3%). This indicates that there is a prevalence of 97.8% of water-borne diseases. Over 77.1% of respondents did not receive water at all from Water Corporation of Oyo State, while few of respondents did receive water supply. This survey provides critical data about current potable and non-potable RWH practices in Nigeria and can serve as guidance for future RWH research. In particular, the inadequacy of water supply in the City should be investigated further as the demand for sustainable RWH system in Nigeria continues to grow.

Keywords

rainwater harvesting, survey, catchment, sustainable water supply

Copyright

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References

[1]	UN, Water for People, Water for Life: UN World Water Development Report (WWDR), UNESCO and Berghahn Books, UN 2003.
[2]	T. Oweis and A. Hachum.Water harvesting and supplemental irrigation for improved water productivity of dry farming systems in West Asia and North Africa.Water Management 80, 57-73. 2006.
[3]	E. Frot, B. van Wesemael, A.S. Benet, M.A. House, Water harvesting potential as a function of hill slope characteristics: A case study from the Sierra de Gator (Almeria Province, South-East Spain). Journal of Arid Environment 72, 1213-1231. 2008.
[4]	Orebiyi, E.O, Awomeso, J.A, Idowu, O.A, Martins, O., Oguntoke, O., Taiwo, A.M. Assessment of pollution hazards of shallow well water in Abeokuta and environs, South Western Nigeria. American Journal of Environmental Science 6, 50-56.2010.
[5]	Appan, A. Economics and water quality aspects of rainwater catchment system. Proceedings of International Symposium on Efficient Water Use in Urban Areas, UNEP International Environmental and Technological Center, Osaka, Japan, 1999.
[6]	Prinz, D. Water harvesting in Mediterranean environment- Its past role and future prospect, in: N. Tsiourtis, ed., Water resources management in the Mediterranean under drought of water shortage conditions, International Symposium, Nicosia, Cyprus, 1995, 135-144.
[7]	Zhu, K., Zhang, L., Hart, W., Liu, M. and Chen, H. Quality issues in harvested rainwater in arid and semi-arid Loess Plateau of northern China. Journal of Arid Environments, 57, 487-507.2004.
[8]	MwengKahinda, J., Rockstrom, J., Taigbenu, A.E., Dimes, J. Rainwater harvesting to enhance water productivity of rainfed agriculture in semi-arid Zimbabwe, Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 32, 1068-1073. 2007a.
[9]	Rockstrom, J., Barron, J. Water productivity in rainfed systems: overview of challenges and analysis of opportunities in water scarcity prone savannahs. Irrigation Science 25(3), 299-311. 2007.
[10]	MwengeKahinda, J., Taighenu, A.E., Boroto, R.J. Domestic rainwater harvesting to improve water supply in rural South Africa. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 32, 1050-1057. 2007b.
[11]	Mati, B., De Bock, T., Malesu, M., Khaka, E., Oduor, A., Meshack, M., Odour, V. Mapping the potential of Rainwater Harvesting Technologies in Africa. A GIS Overview on Development Domains for the Continent and Ten Selected Countries. Technical Manual No. 6. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nairobi, Kenya, 2006. 126.
[12]	Herrmann, T. andSchmida, U. Rainwater utilisation in Germany: efficiency, dimensioning, hydraulics and environmental aspects, Urban Water, 1, 307-316. 2000.
[13]	Fewkes, A. The use of rainwater for WC flushing: the field-testing of a collection system. Building and Environment, 34 (6), 765-772. 1999.
[14]	Appan, A. A dual-mode system for harnessing roof water for non-potable uses.Urban Water, 1(4), 317-321. 2000.
[15]	Handia, L., Tembo, JM, Mwiindwa, C. Potential of rainwater harvesting in urban Zambia. Physics and Chemical Earth, 28(20-27), 893-896. 2003.
[16]	Peter, A. A. and Mberede, L.O. Improvement on the harvested rainwater quality in rural areas of Southern Nigeria. Poster Presented at 10th IRCSA Conference, Mannheim, Germany. 2001.
[17]	Coker, A.O. Potentials of Rainwater in a Southwestern Nigeria Community. Poster Presented at 10th IRCSA Conference, Mannheim, Germany. 2001.
[18]	Sridhar, M.K.C., Coker, A.O. and Adegbuyi, S.A. Rainwater harvesting in Nigeria: Prospects and problems. Proceedings at the 10th International Rainwater Catchment Systems Conference, September 10-14, Mannheim, Germany, 122. 2001.
[19]	Efe, S.I. Quality of rainwater harvesting for rural Communities of Delta State, Nigeria, The Environmentalist, 26(3), 175-181. 2006.
[20]	Rim-Rukeh A., Ikhifa G.O., Okokoyo A.P. and Awatefe J.K. Treatment of harvested rainwater in a pilot scale fixed-bed filledwith bone char. Journal of Applied Science Research, 3(8), 690-694. 2007.
[21]	Oni, S.I., Ege, E., Asenime, C. and Oke, S.A. Rainwater harvesting potential for domestic water supply in Edo State. IndustrialJournal of Management and Social Sciences 2 (2), 87-98. 2008.
[22]	Onoja S.B., Ocheja I.E., and Isikwe M.O. Rainwater harvesting practices and design of rainwater harvesting system forOtukpa Community, Benue State, Nigeria. CTA Seminar.Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Universityof Agriculture Makurdi, Nigeria. 2010.
[23]	Olaoye, R.A. and Olaniyan, O.S. Quality of rainwater from different roof material. International Journal of Engineering and Technology 2(8), pp. 1413-1420. 2012.
[24]	Lade, O.O., Coker, A.O., Scridhar, M.K.C. Sustainable water supply for domestic use: application of roof-harvested water for groundwater recharge. Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering A, 1(5), 2012.581-588.
[25]	Lekwot, V.E., Samuel, I.O., Ifeanyi., E. and Olisaemeka, O. Evaluating the potential of rainwater harvesting as a supplementary source of water supply in the Kanai (Mali) and the district of Zangon-Kataf local government area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. Global Advanced Research Journal Environmental Science and Toxicology 1 (3), 38-45. 2012.
[26]	Shittu, O.I., Okareh, O.T. and Coker, A.O. Design and construction of rainwater harvesting system for domestic water supply in Ibadan, Nigeria. Journal of Research in Environmental Science and Toxicology 1(6), 153-160. 2012.
[27]	DMS,Weather observation station. Department of Meteorological Services, Samonda, Ibadan, 2010.
[28]	SSN,Socio-economic survey of Nigeria.Social statistics in Nigeria.Federal Republic of Nigeria, Abuja, 2007.
[29]	SSN,Socio-economic survey of Nigeria.Social statistics in Nigeria.Federal Republic of Nigeria, Abuja, 2008.
[30]	UN, Water for Cities: UN World Water Development Report (WWDR), UNESCO and Berghahn Books, UN 2011.available from: http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/12/17/eco.about.water/ [Accessed 14/06/2015].
[31]	Map of Ibadan. Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ibadan, 2012.
[32]	Research Information Determine Sample Size. Salt Lake City 2008. Online: http://stat.ubc.ca/~rollin/stats/ssize/[Accessed 14/06/2015].
[33]	Munn, P. and Drever, E. Using questionnaires in small-scale research: A teachers’ guide, SCRE Publication, Edinburgh 1990.
[34]	Mirabella, J. Hypothesis testing with SPSS: A non-statistician guide and tutorial. 2006. Online:http://www.drjimmirabella.com/ebook/excerpt%20from%20Hypothesis%20Testing%20with%20SPSS %20ebook%20(Jim%20Mirabella).pdf [Accessed 14/06/2015].
[35]	Kerr, A.W., Hall, H.K. and Kozub, S.A. Doing Statistics with SPSS. Sage Publications, London, 238.2002.
[36]	De Vaus, D. A. Surveys in Social Research, 5th Edition,Routeledge, London, 379. 2002.
[37]	Cox, D., Fafchamps, M., Schultz, T.P., John, A.S. Chapter 58 Extended Family and Kinship. Networks: Economic Insights and Evolutionary Directions. In: Handbook of Development Economics. Elsevier. 3711-3784. 2007.