People Perception of Domestic Water Supply Situation in Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Right or wrong, public perception impacts directly on environmental issues. Thus, the past two decades have seen an increase in the analysis of the human-environment relationship. This study assesses sources and providers of water to residents of Ogun state, Nigeria. Public perception, with respect to government performance in terms of water provision and, the willingness to pay for water services rendered, were gauged using stratified sampling technique. A total of 1,500 questionnaires were distributed to the sampled population spread in five out of the twenty local government areas of the state. Results indicated 81% of the residents obtained water from groundwater resources while only 14.9% receive water from public utilities. Also, over 75% of the respondents provide water for themselves while 65% indicated that they will prefer not to pay for water services even if the government makes the services available. The study showed that water agencies cannot be sustainably operated when public attitude to protection of same is not favorable. It was recommended that advocacy programs aimed at educating residents on inherent benefits of sustainably patronizing state water utilities rather than dependence on self-made efforts would prove helpful to both residents and government.