Sanitary Facilities Location in Nigeria: Implications for population Health

Eno Eyak James ,Aniedi Udo Essien ,Eyo Akon Etim

doi:10.7176/jrdm/54-06

Abstract

The study examined the location of sanitary facilities particularly, the septic tank and borehole water in a typical Nigerian urban center. Field measurements were utilized to generate location data on the distance between septic tank and borehole water on twenty-two sampled points across eleven residential zones in Eket LGA of AKS. Water samples from the boreholes were analysed for physico-chemical and bacteriological properties. The chi-square test of goodness of fit was applied on the location data to examine their level of conformity with WHO baseline data; while the regression analysis was conducted to examine the effect of location of septic tanks on the quality of the borehole water. Findings showed massive non-conformity with WHO standards for minimum allowable distance between septic tank and borehole water points. Though no significant relationship was found between septic tank location and the physico-chemical properties of borehole water, the study found significant effect of location on the bacteriological load of borehole water in the area, as it degrades the quality of borehole water and also threatens population health. Intensive awareness campaign against improper location of sanitary facilities (septic tanks) alongside strict enforcement of town planning laws could go a long way in mitigating the situation. Keywords: Sanitary facilities: location; septic tank; borehole water; Nigeria; Population Health. DOI : 10.7176/JRDM/54-06 Publication date : April 30 th 2019

Highlights

Improvement on access to safe water and sanitation facilities are among the core developmental issues facing the developing nations in the world today
Location of Septic Tank in the Study Area The main thrust of this paper has been to examine the level of conformity to the WHO standards in the location of septic tank in relation to borehole water in the study area
The minimum allowable distance between the septic tank and borehole water according to WHO standard is 18 meters (WHO, 2016)

Summary

Introduction

Improvement on access to safe water and sanitation facilities are among the core developmental issues facing the developing nations in the world today. In Nigeria, whereas, access to water and sanitary facilities have significantly improved through the proliferation of borehole water and septic tanks construction (Abubakar, 2017), the issue of location of these facilities in terms of their conformity with laid down standards has been quite challenging. As quest for socioeconomic opportunity drives population towards an already congested urban center, the Nigeria urban spaces have become blighted with wanton location of sanitary facilities within the neighborhoods (Abubakar, 2017). The opponents of septic tank utilization as a sanitary facility argue that septic tank if poorly designed, ill-maintained and inappropriately located are likely to discharge pollutants into adjacent aquifer thereby threatening the quality and safety of groundwater consumption in those areas (Kawanga, 2003; WHO, 2006; Ochuko and Thaddeus, 2013; Victoria and Ismail, 2011)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion