Complementing Water Supply through Rainwater Harvesting in Some Selected Villages of Sahel Savannah Ecological Zone in Borno State Northeastern Nigeria

Abstract

One of the greatest environmental challenges that confront rural communities in Nigeria especially in Borno state is scarcity of water supply. Rainwater harvesting can reduce over dependence on centralized piped water supply and checkmate climate change. This study in two rural communities determined the water per capita use, examined water sources and then estimated the amount of rainwater that can be harvested by households in these villages. The villages are Kukurpu and Yelwa Bam in Hawul local government area of Borno state Nigeria. The choice of the villages is justified on the basis of their location in the semi-arid region of the Sahel ecological zone with lesser rainfall compared to other parts in the region. Lack of adequate access to water supply is precursor to water related diseases and challenge to sustainable development. This study used scheduled interview with households and 100 household were surveyed using simple random sampling. In each of the village, 50 observations were made Results revealed that 87% of the households rely water from hand dug wells, ephemeral streams and boreholes equipped with manual hand pumps that are susceptible to drought and frequent breakdown. Borno state where the villages are located had a mean annual rainfall of 860 mm from 1980 to 2009; however, the annual rainwater harvesting potential was put at 51.21 m 3 . Although over 80% are aware of rainwater harvesting practices on ly 2% of households harvest rainwater due to the seasonality of rain - fall coupled with inadequate water storage facilities. There is therefore the need to embark on massive rainwater harvesting with corresponding water reservoir as a way to reduce the effects of the five months dry spell experienced in the region.