AN EVALUATION OF THE SOURCES OF DRINKING WATER AND IT HEALTH IMPLICATION

Abstract

Drinking water quality is one of the greatest factors affecting human health. However, drinking water quality in many countries, especially in developing countries specifically Nigeria is not desirable and poor drinking water quality has induced many waterborne diseases. This special issue of Exposure and Health was edited to gain a better understanding of the sources of drinking water and its health implication on public so that proper actions can be taken to improve the drinking water quality conditions in many countries. Achieving efficient, effective and cost effective water purification methods for the community is the key to human survival and development, as water management is a current global concern. Water is the basic resource necessary for sustaining all human activities, so its provision in desired quantity and quality is of utmost importance. Water pollution affects drinking water, rivers, lakes and oceans all over the world, which consequently harms human health and the natural environment. The present cross-sectional study is focused on measuring the sources of drinking water in rural areas.

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background of the study

An important environmental component is water, which is an essential ingredient for sustainability and survival of every life form on earth. Therefore, need for water is constantly increasing due to high rates of population growth, urbanization and other anthropogenic factors. Water is also a necessity to humans who need plenty of water intake per day for survival (Nester et al., 2004). Ideally, drinking water should be safe and acceptable to all. Guidelines on the quality of drinking water by the World Health Organization (WHO) (WHO, 2011) provided standards in terms of microbial, chemical and radionuclide content, as well as physical properties for safe drinking water. More so, in a bid to transform our world and ensure better lives for humans, the United Nations, of which Nigeria is a member, is guided by 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). The SDGs came into effect in January 2016 with a Global agenda till 2030. Goal number six of the SDGs is targeted towards clean water and sanitation (UN, 2020). Four years into the implementation of the SDGs globally, it is important to examine how Nigeria is faring towards achieving the goal of access to clean potable drinking water with respect to quality and quantity. Nigeria is located in west Africa and located between 3°E and 14°E of the Greenwich Meridian and 4°N of the equator, and with great geographical variation. Its topography range from the coastal plains to the savannah in the North and reaches an elevation of 600 to 700 meters. It is surrounded in the South-West by Benin Republic, SouthEast by Cameroun, South-South by the Atlantic Ocean (Gulf of Guinea) and in the North by Niger Republic. There are six Geo-Political Zones in Nigeria namely: South-West, North-West, South-East, North-East, South-South and North-Central. In Nigeria, less than one-third of urban and rural dwellers have access to piped water supply connections in their yards (WHO/UNICEF, 2014) for drinking, and those with piped water may still experience unreliable, poor quality service (Kumpel et al., 2016). Most households rely on public standpipes and non-piped water supplies, such as handdug wells, boreholes, springs and water vendors (WHO/UNICEF, 2014). These sources of drinking water are all classified as “improved drinking water sources” (WHO, 2011). Improved drinking water source can be defined as a source that is adequately constructed in such a way that the source is protected especially from fecal matters and other contaminations from outside (WHO/ JMPR, 2013). Other sources like rivers, streams, lakes and ponds from surface water and bottled water are classified as “unimproved drinking water sources (WHO, 2011)”. Streams and rivers which have become important sources of water for cooking and drinking in remote villages and slums are faced with environmental contaminations from discharges or effluents from abattoirs or sewage especially downstream (Omole and Longe 2008) and from industrial waste (Bello-Osagie and Omoruyi, 2012; Ifelebuegu et al., 2017). In urban and metropolitan cities where ground water sources (boreholes and deep wells) constitute major sources of drinking water, contamination via leachates from municipal solid waste dumpsites (Aboyeji and Eigbokhan, 2016) and industrial wastewater (Bello-Osagie and Omoruyi, 2012) remains of major public health concern. Drinking water contamination by different microorganisms such as coliforms (Kumpel et al., 2016), Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas species (Igbeneghu and Lamikanra, 2014) have been reported in Nigeria. Also, the presence of metals like iron, calcium, chromium and aluminum have been found in surface water (Titilawo et al., 2018) and sachet-packed water (Emenike et al., 2018), including cadmium, lead, manganese and nickel in groundwater (Ayedun et al., 2015) above permissible levels for drinking water. Other contaminants such as fluoride (Emenike et al., 2018) and light polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have also been reported to be present in groundwater in levels above permissible limits in some locations in Nigeria (Adekunle et al., 2017). The risk of contamination of these drinking water sources by pathogens and harmful chemicals is high due to increasing population densities, lack of adequate sanitation infrastructure and poor hygiene. It is estimated that there are about 1.1 billion people with limited access to adequate water supplies, which has resulted in the outbreak of diarrhoea (about 4 billion cases) and death (about 5 million per annum) worldwide (WHO, 2015). Over the years, studies have shown that shortages of clean water are associated with improper management, alarming population growth, unfavourable policy implementation of water-related projects and upsurge in industrial activities (Sibanda et al., 2014; Kora et al., 2017). These dynamics are also known to unpleasantly affect the access, availability, distribution, provision and quality of water and associated resources (Igbinosa and Okoh, 2009; Liang et al., 2013). There is need for urgent interventions to prevent water shortages, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria where significant reports of waterborne infections and diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid occur as a consequence of poor sanitation and poverty (Coleman et al., 2013; Igbinosa and Aighewi, 2017). Over 66 million Nigerians in the cities and rural areas lack access to potable drinking water supply, and this has resulted to an increase in the consumption of contaminated or polluted water (WHO, 2015; Ologbushere et al., 2016; Beshiru et al., 2018) with potential detrimental public health effects.

• STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Access to potable water is measured by the number of people who have reasonable means of getting an adequate (quality and quantity) amount of water that is safe for drinking, washing and essential household activities. Adequate access to potable water means that women and children will spend limited time in fetching water that could be used actually for drinking, cooking and other tasks (Ishaku et al., 2011). It is a key component in poverty alleviation efforts and reflects the health and sanitation of people in the country. It shows the country’s capacity to collect and distribute treated water to consumers (Ishaku et al., 2011). Safe water includes treated surface water, as well as untreated but uncontaminated water from natural springs and sanitary wells and protected boreholes. But in Nigeria especially in Wase LGA of Plateau State the reverse is the case as there is no affordable and hygienic drinking water which is why this study becomes pertinent.

• OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The study has one main objective which is broken down into general and specific objective, the general objective is to evaluate the sources of drinking water and its health implication, the specific objectives are;

1. To examine the effect of the sources of drinking water on the health of the populace
2. To ascertain if there is any significant relationship between the source of drinking water and the health of the populace

• To examine the health implication of unhygienic drinking water source on the people of Wase LGA.

1. To proffer suggested solution to the identified problem
   • RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions were formulated by the researcher to aid the completion of the study;

1. Does the sources of drinking water has any effect on the health of the populace?
2. Is there any significant relationship between the source of drinking water and the health of the populace?

• Is there any health implication of unhygienic drinking water source on the people of Wase LGA.?
  • RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The following research hypotheses were formulated by the researcher to aid the completion of the study:

H₀: There is no significant relationship between the source of drinking water and the health of the populace

H₁: There is a significant relationship between the source of drinking water and the health of the populace

H₀: unhygienic drinking water source does not have any health implication on the people of Wase LGA

H₂: unhygienic drinking water source does have a health implication on the people of Wase LGA

• SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is believed that at the completion of the study, the findings will be of great importance to the state water board service as the findings of the study tend to explore the dangers associated with unhygienic drinking water sources in the study area, the study will also be of great importance to health workers in Wase LGA as the findings of the study will serve as a source of information of their sensitization program in the study area, the study will also be of importance to researcher who intend to embark on a similar topic as the findings will serve as a reference point to further studies. Finally the study will be useful to students, teachers, academia’s and the general public as the study will contribute to the pool of existing literature on the subject matter also contribute to knowledge.

• SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study covers an evaluation of the sources of drinking waters and it health implication with emphasis on Wase LGA. But in the course of the study, there are some factors that limit the scope of the study;

Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint– The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work

1. a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study.

1.8 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

Water

Water is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth’s hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms

Drinking water

Drinking water, also known as potable water, is water that is safe to drink or use for food preparation. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, age, health-related issues, and environmental conditions

Health

Health is a state of physical, mental and social well-being in which disease and infirmity are absent.

1.9 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows

Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.  Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study

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