Water Management Practices among Rural Dwellers in Gwer West Local Government Area, Benue State, Ngeria

Abstract

Inadequacy and poor management of water contributes to most water-related diseases, including diarrhoea. The water quality in improved water supply systems often is affected by unreliable operation and poor management in many developing countries including Nigeria. This study investigated water management practices among rural dwellers in Gwer West Local Government Area, Benue State, Nigeria. Five research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey research design. The population for the study consisted of 122,145 rural dwellers. The sample was 420 rural dwellers drawn using multi-stage sampling procedure. A validated Water Management Practices Questionnaire (WMPQ) served as the instrument for data collection. Descriptive statistics of frequencies and percentages and Pearson Chi-square statistic were use to analyse and answer the research questions and hypotheses respectively. Results showed that: overall, more than half (64.3%) of rural dwellers use conventional containers to fetch/collect water. More than half (62.3%) of rural dwellers use conventional containers to store water. More than half (60.2%) of rural dwellers indicated treating water before use by application of the conventional water improvement methods and materials. There was significant difference in responses on water management practices among rural dwellers based on age (p <.05) while no significant difference was obtained based on education level (p >.05). The authors recommended among others that the water source should be well treated so as to prevent individuals, families and animals from infection. This can be done by tracing the water supply source, collection and storage methods and providing adequate purification measures.