1. 1
ACCESSIBILITY TO WATER SUPPLY
AND
WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITIES:
A CASE STUDY OF OWORONSHOKI HOUSING, LAGOS.
BY
OLUSANYA OLUWATOBI OPEYEMI
149051073
(M.E.D)
A Research Project Report Submitted in Partial Fulfilment for the
Degree of Master of Environmental Design in the
Department of Architecture
University Of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos-state.
JUNE 2016
LECTURERS: PROF. O.S OKEDELE,
DR TONY IWEKA,
DR OMOEGUN

2. 2
ABSTRACT
Despite the essence of water supply and decent waste disposal services to
mankind, access to these basic services is a challenge in Oworonshoki slum area.
The paper examined accessibility to water supply and waste disposal services in
Oworonshoki slum area and the accompanying consequences. In the analysis of
water supply, it was established that the contribution of private individuals
constituted 64% of daily water production while public water provision effort
constituted 36%.
The existence of slum still has a serious problem for attainment of sustainable
urban development in most countries especially Nigeria. The study was
conceptualized on the need to evaluate the accessibility of water supply and waste
disposal in promoting conducive living and to reduce the issue of diseases arising
from the area due to poor hygiene. The evaluation was based on measurable
objectives and the study adopted a case study design combining both quantitative
and qualitative methods that involved pre-field work, field work, data collection
and analysis. The sample size consisted of 25 respondents and drawn from a target
population that consisted of households in Oworonshoki. Emphasis was on
analysing the accessibility and usefulness of water supply and waste disposal for
an improved living standard in the study area.
Keywords: Slum, Waste, Waste Management, Environment, Environmental
Sanitation, Sanitation

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pages
Title Page 1
Abstract ` 2
Table of contents 3
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1. 0 Background of study 6
1.0.1 Water, sanitation and hygiene 9
1.0.2 Current situation in Urban services 11
1.0.3 Two key deficiencies; Sanitation and water 13
1.1. Statement of problem 17
1.2 Aim 17
1.2.1 Objectives 17
1.3 Research questions 17
1.4 Scope of study 18
1.5 Definition of terms 18
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Literature review 20

4. 4
2.1.0 Barriers preventing improvements in water, 21
Sanitation and hygiene
2.1.1 Supply constraint 22
2.1.2 Demand constraint 22
2.1.3 Institutional constraint 24
CHAPTER THREE
STUDY AREA AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 Study area 27
3.1 Historical background 27
3.2 Location 27
3.3 Access to site 28
3.4 Climate 28
3.5 Topography 28
3.6 Population 29
3.7 Drainage system 29
3.8 Research Methodology 29
3.9 Study Design 30
3.9.1 Nature and sources of data 30
3.9.2 Methods of data collection 31
3.10.0 Data Presentation 31

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3.10.1 Accessibility to housing basic services 32
3.10.2 Water supply 32
3.10.3 Environmental Quality 34
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 Data Presentation, Analysis and interpretation 37
4.1 Availability, accessibility and management of water 37
4.2 Results and discussion 39
CHAPTER FIVE
5.0 Summary of the Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations 41
5.1 Research question 1 41
5.2 Research question 2 42
5.3 Recommendations 42
5.4 Conclusion 44
CHAPTER SIX
6.0 REFERENCES 47

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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Water is a precious resource and vital for life. Without it we would die within
days. Access to a safe and affordable supply of drinking water is universally
recognized as a basic human need for the present generation and a pre-condition
for the development and care of the next. Water is also a fundamental economic
resource on which people’s livelihoods depend. In addition to domestic water
use, households use water for productive activities such as farming and livestock
rearing in rural areas, or horticulture and home-based microenterprises in urban
settlements. Water shortage, poor quality water, or unreliable supply have
profound effects on people’s well-being. Providing safe water alone is not
enough, however, as water can quickly become unsafe, and the faecal–oral
transmission of diseases can occur in other ways. If people do not have adequate
and appropriate sanitation facilities or the chance to develop good hygiene
practices, diseases can be spread through the contamination of water or through
other pathways in the home environment. At any one time around half of all
people in developing countries are suffering from one or more of the six main
diseases associated with inadequate water supply and sanitation: diarrhoea,
ascaris, dracunculiasis, hookworm, schistosomiasis, and trachoma. Improving
the health of the poor is a frequently cited goal of water and sanitation projects.
The relationship is difficult to establish in practice at the project level, but over

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the longer term it can be demonstrated that there are significant health-associated
benefits from improvements in water supply and sanitation provision,
particularly when these are associated with changes in hygiene behaviour.
Every year, millions of the world’s poorest people die from preventable diseases
caused by inadequate water supply and sanitation (WS&S) services. Hundreds
of millions more suffer from regular bouts of diarrhoea or parasitic worm
infections that ruin their lives. Women and children are the main victims.
Burdened by the need to carry water containers long distances every day, they
must also endure the indignity, shame, and sickness that result from a lack of
hygienic sanitation. The impact of deficient water and sanitation services falls
primarily on the poor. Unreached by public services, people in rural and peri-
urban areas of developing countries make their own inadequate arrangements or
pay excessively high prices to water vendors for meagre water supplies. Their
poverty is aggravated and their productivity impaired, while their sickness puts
severe strains on health services and hospitals. Apart from the overwhelming
social arguments, there are also powerful economic and environmental reasons
for improving WS&S services for the poor. Human waste is a major polluter of
rivers and groundwater resources. As water demand rises inexorably with social
and economic progress, scarcity of water becomes a major consideration in
development planning. Industrialization and food security may both be
threatened, unless water resources are protected and conserved. For all these
reasons, improved WS&S services have been seen as a high priority need by the

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development community for more than 20 years. So why is the suffering and the
squalor virtually unabated in so many countries? There are many reasons, and
the problem is a complex one because solutions depend on a mix of political,
social, technical, and institutional approaches, most of them involving changing
established practices.
While the problem of inadequate water supply and sanitation exists in both rural
and urban areas, the problem is particularly pressing in cities. The water,
sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure of many cities is therefore stressed beyond
current capacity, and infrastructure investments have not kept pace with rapid
and unplanned urbanization.
Urban areas are characterized mainly by lack of basic services such as potable
and safe water, well-laid out drainage system, sewage network, sanitation
facilities and appropriate solid waste disposal. The above led to a focus on the
access on the basic services in urban areas. The focus of this paper is about
understanding the study area and the problem faced in accessing basic services
such as water supply and waste disposal facilities in Oworonshoki.
Slum in most developing countries are characterized by poor infrastructure
facilities such as solid waste disposal, sewage disposal, drainage and water
supply which leads to environmental pollution and in absence of sufficient
number of community toilets, these people are forced to excrete in the
open(Bhardwaj,2007).

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The accumulation of garbage in Oworonshoki was found to be a consequence of
lack of dumping sites in the communities, the uncollected garbage often
accumulated and blocked drainage turned the areas messed up and impassable
during the rainy season. Health is an important issue of present time in
Oworonshoki, unhygienic conditions, open defecation system are the major risk
factors to people in the area. Urban Services is primarily focused on water,
sanitation, and hygiene services (WSH), thus, while the broader infrastructural
challenges may take years to be satisfactorily solved, there is scope for
developing interventions that can improve access to WSH services quickly,
efficiently, and cheaply in the short run.
The definition of urban services is very broad and includes the following
three tiers:
Tier 1: Sanitation, Solid Waste, and Drainage
Tier 2: Water, Security, Electricity, and Housing
Tier 3: Education and Health
The tiered definition reflects the ranking and prioritization of the broad set of
urban services for the purposes of this initiative.
1.0.1 WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE
To define Water, Sanitation and Hygiene services, we follow Evans (2005):
Hygiene:
i) Safe storage of water;

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ii) ii) Safe treatment of foodstuffs;
iii) iii) Safe hand washing practices.
Sanitation:
i) Safe “on-site” collection, storage, treatment and disposal/re-use/recycling of
human excreta; ii) Connection to sewage systems;
iii) Management/re-use/recycling of solid waste;
iv) Collection and management of industrial waste products;
v) Management of hazardous wastes (hospital wastes, chemical/radioactive and
other dangerous substances).
Water Provision and Management:
i) Access to water network–at household, neighbourhood, or local level;
ii) Drainage and disposal/re-use/recycling of household waste water
(“grey water”);
iii) Drainage of storm water;
iv) Treatment and disposal/re-use/recycling of sewage effluents.
Next, we review the current state of service delivery and access for the urban
poor, and lay out some stylized facts about poverty, urbanization, water, and
sanitation.

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1.0.2 CURRENT SITUATION IN URBAN SERVICES: THE
URBANIZATION OF POVERTY
Migration from rural to urban areas has increased in the last few decades,
especially in the developing world. The rural poor usually come to large cities
to take advantage of job opportunities and improved living standards not
available in their previous areas of residence (Glaeser 2011).
Moving to cities is also often the primary method of income diversification for
rural agricultural workers (Banerjee & Duflo 2006). Indeed, it can be a very
productive move, even for temporary migrants (Bryan, Chowdhury and
Mobarak 2011).
However, cities and peri-urban centers have often been unprepared to absorb
expanding populations and provide adequate urban services--housing,
sanitation, health, and education, among others–to meet the needs of these
rapidly growing new populations. Consequently, migration has shifted the locus
of global poverty to the cities, a process now recognized as the “urbanization of
poverty” (UN-Habitat 2003a).
In many cities, water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure is stressed beyond
current capacity, and infrastructure investment has not kept pace with rapid and
unplanned urbanization (WaterAid 2007). Temporary and seasonal migrants can
exacerbate the service provision challenge, as these migrants often live in
temporary shelters without improved sanitation, waste disposal or water

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facilities. They introduce volatility in the slum populations, and are not
integrated into pre-existing social networks, making it more difficult to
introduce community solutions to institutional problems (UN-Habitat 2003a).
Furthermore, this problem of overcrowded cities with inadequate urban services
is getting more serious. From 1975 to 2007, the growth rate of urban populations
in the developing world was 3.35 percent annually--more than three times larger
than the growth of the rural population. In 2007, the world’s urban population
surpassed the rural population.
The urban poor face huge challenges in their daily lives. Almost a billion people
(more than one-third of the urban population), primarily in the developing world,
live in slums. Living conditions in slums are characterized by overcrowding,
high levels of unemployment or underemployment, deficient urban services
(water, sanitation, education, and health), and widespread insecurity, including
violence against women (UN-Habitat 2003b).
The progress achieved in urban service provision has allowed around 200
million people living in cities to gain access to water, sanitation facilities, and
durable housing. As a consequence, from 2000 to 2010, the proportion of urban
residents in developing countries living in slums decreased from 46 percent to
36 percent. However, the progress is still not enough as the number of people
moving to slums is increasing: the proportion of slum dwellers decreased
because the growth of the urban population more than compensated the growth

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of the slum dwellers. This is especially true in sub-Saharan Africa, and Western
and South-eastern Asia.
1.0.3 TWO KEY DEFICIENCIES: SANITATION AND WATER SUPPLY
Access to water and sanitation among the urban poor:
Sanitation coverage is especially low in cities. Despite the fairly flexible and
expansive definition of improved sanitation, such facilities are used by less than
two-thirds of the world population.
A slum dweller is defined as someone who lives in housing with at least one of
the following characteristics:
i) lack of improved sanitation;
ii) lack of improved water supply;
iii) lack of durable housing;
iv) lack of security of tenure, and
v) lack of sufficient living area
(UN-Habitat 2003b).
WHO (2011) defines a sanitation facility as “improved” if the facility is one that
is likely to hygienically separate human excreta from human contact. Improved
sanitation facilities include: flush or pour-flush to piped sewer system, septic
tank or pit latrine, ventilated improved pit latrine, and pit latrine with slab and
composting toilet. However, sanitation facilities are not considered improved
when shared with other households, or open to public use.

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There are great disparities across regions regarding sanitation coverage. In the
developed world, access to improved facilities is essentially universal, while in
the developing regions, only around half of the population has access to them.
Among the 2.6 billion people in the world who do not use improved sanitation
facilities, the greatest numbers are in Southern Asia, but there are also large
numbers in Eastern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Significant progress has been
made since 1990 in Northern Africa, South eastern Asia, and Eastern Asia
WHO (2011) defines a drinking water source as “improved” if, by nature of its
construction and design, it is likely to protect the source from outside
contamination, in particular from fecal matter. Improved drinking water sources
include: piped water into a dwelling, plot or yard, public tap/stand pipe, tube
well/borehole, protected dug well, protected spring, and rainwater collection. On
the other hand, unimproved drinking water sources are: an unprotected drug
well, unprotected spring, cart with small tank/drum, tanker truck, surface water
(from a river, dam, lake, pond, stream, canal, irrigation channel and any other
surface water), and bottled water (if it is not accompanied by another improved
source).
Intermittent service, which results in unreliable availability and inadequate
volumes of often contaminated water, causes a large number of households to
store water in household reservoirs, and supplement piped water with water from
tanker operators and water vendors (Water and Sanitation Program 2007).

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The respondents highlighted the following deficiencies: 44 percent faced water
scarcity, 90 percent reported that the drains were overflowing, and 99 percent
reported that the nearby dumpsters were emptied less than once a month. When
asked about priorities regarding urban facilities, slum dwellers identified water
as the most problematic issue (50 percent of respondents), followed by sewage
and drainage (20 percent), and garbage (15 percent).
The health impacts
A substantial literature seeks to establish the deleterious effects of lack of access
to water and sanitation on health outcomes, particularly in urban areas.
Inadequate access to safe water and exposure to pathogens through the poor
treatment of solid waste leads to adverse health consequences, particularly
diarrheal diseases. Diarrhea is responsible for an estimated 21 percent of under-
five mortality in developing countries--2.5 million deaths per year (Kosek et al.
2003), and over 4 percent of the world’s disease burden (WHO, 2011).
Approximately 88 percent of all diarrhoea infections worldwide are attributed to
unsafe water supply, the lack of safe hygiene practices, and basic sanitation
infrastructure (Evans 2005). Consequently, interventions that improve
sanitation, water, and hygiene are of first order importance to achieve a better
quality of life.
Densely populated environments are particularly prone to the diffusion of
pathogens, and these problems affect the urban poor in particular. The urban

16. 16
poor have a lower life expectancy at birth, and a higher infant mortality rate than
both the rural poor and the urban non poor (Bradley et al., 1992). Furthermore,
inadequate disposal of solid waste is also a threat to the natural environment (and
indirectly to health), as it can contaminate surface and groundwater with
organics, nutrients, and solids (Hogrewe et al., 1993). It is estimated that by
piping uncontaminated, chlorinated water to households, it would be possible to
reduce diarrheal disease by up to 95 percent (Fewtrell and Colford 2004).
Safe hygiene practices and improved sanitation can have a large impact on health
threats for children under five (Hutton and Haller 2004; Waddington and
Snilstveit 2009). The lack of proper sanitation (defecation in plastic bags,
buckets, open pits, and public areas) in crowded slums contributes to serious
health and environmental risks for entire populations, and the poor are
particularly vulnerable to infection from contaminated water and other disease
vectors.
The methodology section describes the procedure which involved the sample
selection method used to get information from the residents living in the area.
This research hence is focused on addressing the problem faced in accessing
basic services in Oworonshoki and how the environmental and health condition
of the residents can be improved.

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1.1 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The impact of deficient water and sanitation services falls primarily on the poor.
Unreached by public services, people in rural and peri-urban areas of developing
countries make their own inadequate arrangements or pay excessively high
prices to water vendors for meagre water supplies. Their poverty is aggravated
and their productivity impaired, while their sickness puts severe strains on health
services and hospitals. Such is the situation of the community in oworonshoki
slum area, lack of reach to potable water and
1.2 AIM
The aim of this research is to analyse the accessibility, adequacy and
affordability of water supply and waste disposal provided in the study area and
also to implement ways to improve the environmental condition of the slum
dwellers.
1.2. 1 OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this project were:
1) To assess the water supply and waste disposal situation in Oworonshoki slum
area,
2) To identify water supply and sanitation problems in the area and propose
solutions to improve the water supply and sanitation situation.
1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The research aimed to answer the following questions:-

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 Are the residents of Oworonshoki aware of the implications of
indiscriminate waste disposal?
 How adequate, affordable and accessible are the portable water and waste
disposal services provided for the slum dwellers?
 What ways can the human accessibility to the source of water in the
environment be changed?
 What ways can waste disposal be improved on?
1.4 SCOPE OF STUDY
The scope of study was limited to Oworonshoki area, based on the fact that the
study objectives is to analyse adequate, affordable and accessible water and
waste disposal facilities in the study area and the target population included
households and residents in the area.
1.5 DEFINITION OF TERMS
SLUM: Slum is a contiguous settlement where the inhabitants are characterized
by having inadequate housing and basic services such as water and power
supply, sanitation/ It is often not recognized by the public authorities as an
integral part of a city.
WASTE: Waste is the leftovers, products whether liquid or solid having no
economic value which must be thrown away.

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WASTE MANAGEMENT: This is the act to maintain acceptable
environmental quality, sound public health.
ENVIRONMENT: Environment refers to the total surroundings of humans that
support life.
ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION: This is the intervention to reduce
people’s exposure to disease by providing a clean and liveable environment.

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CHAPTER TWO
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
(Census, 2001) In India, urban areas are characterized mainly by lack of basic
services such as potable and safe water, well-laid out drainage system, sewage
network, sanitation facilities and appropriate solid waste disposal. The above
led to a focus on the access on the basic services in urban areas. In a study
Kimani et al (2007) reported that slum areas in Nairobi continues to be
characterized by lack of clean water, inadequate toilet facilities, poor garbage
disposal and drainage mechanisms. The slum dwellers of Ghana also lack basic
environment facilities such as sanitation, drinking waste supply, (Osumanu,
2007).
Jamwal(2004) reported that blocked drains, putrefying waste, children
defecating in the common images in the slum areas of Delhi. Sundari(2003)
reported poor solid waste management in the slums of Tamilnadu with 67%
households having no arrangement for the safe disposal of waste while only
27% have access to dustbins whereas, 6% were found disposing their garbage
by burning. The slum communities are characterised by degraded and abysmal
environmental conditions with increasing problems of encroachment on
unauthorised land especially on river banks and flood plains, and inadequate
sanitation facilities leading to dumping of household waste into nearby water
bodies. For example with a total household of 2553, Ayigya Zongo hasonly
four public toilet facilities serving 67% of the slum dwellers. This is a common

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phenomenon in the six selected slum communities as 91% of the respondents
expressed their dissatisfaction to the worsening state of sanitation in the
communities. This situation puts pressure on the available facilities resulting in
poor management and indiscriminate defecation especially in open spaces
(nature reserves), and has been a major cause of diseases like cholera, typhoid
and malaria in these communities. Additionally, considering the planning
implications of the location of these toilet facilities (KVIP), it was noted that
the KVIPs are located in close proximity to residential houses which
contravenes Ghana planning standards and building regulations. This produces
obnoxious stench and has adverse health implication on the slum dwellers who
live close to these facilities.
Regarding liquid waste management, the predominant methods of disposal in
these communities are gutters created by gullies (51%) and open surface
(29%). This was more pronounced in Sisakyi where 92 percent of households
use open space liquid waste disposal method, thus serving as a breeding
ground for mosquitoes.
2.1 BARRIERS PREVENTING IMPROVEMENTS IN WATER,
SANITATION, AND HYGIENE
In this section, we identify the key sets of barriers to innovation and implementation of
improved water and sanitation, elaborating broadly on the demand, supply, and
institutional constraints.

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2.1.1 Supply Constraints
The first barrier to improvement of urban services is insufficient supply, especially of
networked services. As mentioned earlier, a high percentage of the urban poor remain
excluded from water and sanitation networks. In fact, less than 15 percent of those living
in Asia and Africa have access to sewer sanitation (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
2011). Less than 50 percent of the poorest urban residents in Africa, and less than 40
percent in Asia have access to piped water (WHO and UN-Habitat 2010).
A number of explanations have been proposed for the inadequate supply of safe
water, and especially, sanitation. Building water and sanitation infrastructure is
costly and may involve numerous technical, bureaucratic, and legal constraints
(Water and Sanitation Program 2007).
Overcoming these constraints is further complicated by the complementarities in water
and sanitation provision: many of the safest sanitation improvements require adequate
water supply, and modern sanitation solutions without water may actually be
counterproductive for health. Water infrastructure must, therefore, be provided either
before sanitation infrastructure is built, or ideally as a joint project, which in turn
increases the costs of service provision. Improvements in the planning and delivery of
services are essential to promote more efficient use of water resources.
In addition to these, climate change is altering the availability and quantity of water
throughout the world. Furthermore, the "urbanization of poverty" and the massive internal

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migration of people from rural areas to cities are placing growing pressure on increasingly
scarce water resources
(UNEP 2011). Both these trends increase the threats to public health posed by poor WSH
services in densely populated areas. Thus, moving forward, it is critical that policymakers
and researchers search for ways to overcome not just current constraints to adequate water
supply, but develop possibly pre-emptive responses to evolving challenges. For example,
if the infrastructure is indeed stressed beyond carrying capacity, can public policies or
other innovative interventions affect the quantity or composition of the population that
needs to be served? Because of the links between water and sanitation, such research has
the potential to impact water supply, sanitation, and other urban services all at once.
2.1.2 Demand Constraints
Even in places where a sewage system or piped water network exists, and where it would,
in principle, be possible to connect households to it, there may be demand constraints that
limit people's access to these services.
There are various potential reasons for limited demand. The primary constraint may be
low willingness to pay. Randomized experiments in Zambia (Ashraf et al. 2010) and
Kenya (Kremer et al. 2009; Kremer et al. 2011) suggest that the willingness to pay for
improved water quality is low (in terms of money spent on chlorine or time allocated to
water collection). Yet, given that investing in improved water and sanitation services is
believed to provide high returns to health outcomes, the reasons for such low uptake are
difficult to rationalize. The poor may be liquidity constrained, they may not fully

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understand the benefits of the new technologies, have a wrong assessment of its costs, or
there may be other behavioural or institutional constraints. If liquidity constraints are the
main barrier to uptake of WSH services, then there is an argument to be made for public
subsidies for such services, given the positive health and environmental externalities
associated with increased use of water and sanitation systems. Moreover, aid in kind (in
the form of reduced prices for water) could theoretically be justified in light of
paternalism, imperfect information or interdependent preferences (Currie and Gahvari
2008). Regardless of the type of subsidy used, the subsidy should be designed to provide
an efficient allocation of services and ensure sustainability. The standard subsidy for
water, however, hardly covers the cost involved in giving someone access to the network,
but does provide for continuous supply of very cheap water. This may be regressive (as
the poor are most likely to be unable to pay for the fixed investment costs) and inefficient
(as it leads to waste of water). Recent work suggests that helping the poor borrow for the
fixed cost of connection, and then charging a more reasonable price for water may
increase both access and satisfaction (Devoto et al. 2011). Additional research on efficient
ways to permit the poor to better access existing infrastructure is likely to be valuable.
Lack of demand for these urban services may stem from the fact that slum dwellers often
live in housing without registration or titling, which discourages them from investing in
new services (Field 2005; S. Galiani and Schargrodsky 2010). Transient migrants are very
common in fastgrowing slums, and usually come to urban areas during off-seasons in
rural agricultural work in order to diversify their income sources (Banerjee and Duflo

25. 25
2006, Bryan et al. 2011). They lack incentives to invest in urban services, and it is
difficult to integrate them into existing networks.
2.1.3 Institutional Constraints
There are also institutional constraints that prevent the poor from accessing adequate
urban services.
For example, centralized supply solutions may not be sustainable or even work at all if
regional and local levels of government are not involved to adapt the solutions to specific
local needs (Tearfund 2007). Mismatches between demand for improved sanitation and
the type of services provided often results in unused or underused sanitation
infrastructure.
In addition to these, moral hazard and free-riding problems typical of collective action can
arise when the sanitation or water infrastructure is shared, and must be jointly maintained.
Although examples of communal solutions to these coordination problems exist (for
example, communal sanitary facilities, garbage collection, or maintenance of drainage),
they must be structured carefully to ensure that incentives are correctly aligned, the
institutions (i.e. rules of the game) are well designed, and that the community can
successfully monitor its members.
Finally, not all individuals in the community may approve the development of water and
sanitation services. For example, small, private, water-service providers–tanker operators,
private kiosk operators, household resellers, door-to-door vendors, and operators of small
boreholes and private piped networks–have a vested interest in preventing the

26. 26
construction of formal network-based services. Some of these provide good quality
service under competitive conditions, but the price of water is usually much higher than
that of the main water utility, and they are most often informal and unregulated providers.
Any novel interventions must account for the pre-existing market conditions.

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CHAPTER THREE
3.0 STUDY AREA: OWORONSHOKI
3.1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
Owo now Oworonshoki, is an irregular oval land bounded by Lagos and 3rd
mainland bridge. A substantial amount of residents of present Oworonshoki
engage in trading and fishing. The traders are mostly involved in small,
medium scale-business, usually in front of their homes.
The original settlers of Oworonshoki are the Aworis, who were the children of
the Olofin of Eko. The Aworis who were mostly nomadic fishermen, migrated
from Ife through Agboyi and Isheri Olofin due to scarcity of resources and
constant war and finally settled in a final location approved by Ifa due to
abundance of fish.
3.2 SITE LOCATION
Fig1. Site location map

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The study location is Oworonshoki community in Kosofe Local Government
Area (LGA) of Lagos State, Southwestern Nigeria.
Oworonshoki is located within the mainland part of Lagos State. Up north, the
study location share boundaries with Bariga Local Council Development Area.
The lagoon is situated at the western part of Oworonshoki community while it
shares boundaries with Ifako and Ogudu at the east and south respectively.
Oworonshoki can be linked through land and water transport systems. The
lagoon connects Oworonshoki and Lagos Island together.
3.3 ACCESS TO THE SITE
The site has a major access road on Oworo Road.
3.4 CLIMATE
Oworonshoki climate is classified as Tropical. The average temperature is
27.1c. The minimum annual rainfall is 1694mm. There are two rainy seasons
with the heaviest rainfall from April to July and dry season from December to
March.
3.5 TOPOGRAPHY
The topography of Oworonshoki is approximately 10m above sea level with a
steep slope of 5m. The soil is mostly marshy and clayey especially on the
lowlands of the eastern shoreline of Lagos Lagoon.

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3.6 POPULATION
As at 2013, Oworonshoki community has an estimated population of about
202,972 with 111 streets and two geographical distribution into areas/wards A
and B as divided by a major road named Oworo Road.
3.7 DRAINAGE SYSTEM
The result of the survey reveals that 12.7% of the area lacks drainage, while
87.3% seen to have one form of drainage or the other which is stagnant and flows
to nowhere in particular.
3.8 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The research aims at improving the quality of life (in terms of quality of
dwellings and environment) of slum dwellers through urban renewal rather
than demolition or eviction in Oworonshoki.
This study was carried out in three stages:
Stage 1: This stage involved a desk study in which documents and records
relating to water supply and waste disposal in Oworonshoki are used.
Stage 2: This stage involve the use of questionnaires and oral interviews with
residents of the area through simple random sampling methods, mostly,
landlords. Information obtained was used to update the data collected during
the desk study.
Stage 3: Analysis of collected data during questionnaire distributions and
random oral interviews conducted in the Oworonshoki community.

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• A total of 25 respondents were given questionnaires and interviewed, while
there was an observation of infrastructural facilities and building conditions
also.
The streets chosen in Oworonshoki are as follows:
1. Olorunfunmi Street
2. Adabale Street
3. Oyenuga Street
4. Balogun Street
5. Abiola Street
6. Oduduwa Street
7. Oyekunle Street
8. Adebanwo Street
9. Mabawonku Street
10. Ogunyomi Street
3.9 STUDY DESIGN
The study improvised a case study design combining both quantitative and
qualitative methods which employed the following steps: - Pre-field work, field
work, data collection, data analysis and interpretation.
3.9.1 NATURE AND SOURCES OF DATA
Two types of data were collected namely: Primary and Secondary.

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The primary data was collected from the field and gave the major information
about the accessibility, adequacy and affordability of water supply and waste
disposal in the study area.
The secondary data was sourced through literature review, documents and
projects
Variable Type of Data Source of Data Data Instrument
Water supply Primary Household Questionnaire
Waste
disposal(sanitation)
Secondary Individual Interview
Fig2. Data collection methods
3.9.2 Methods of Data Collection
The methods used here includes: Interviews, Photography and Document review
Interview: Primary data was collected from households through questionnaires and
interviews.
Data collected included access to housing facility

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Photography: Photographs were used to gather information which was then referred to
during the analysis of data to provide proper interpretation of different view countered
during the research.
Document Review: Secondary data was mainly sourced through documents such as reports
and Books with information related to the study
3.9.3 Data Collection Instruments
Questionnaires: Households questionnaires were used to collect data. The aim of the
Questionnaire was basically to gather information on the neighbourhood view about the
situation of the environmental facilities such as water supply and waste disposal in the study
area and its effect on their livelihoods.
3.10 DATA PRESENTATION
3.10.1 ACCESSIBILITY TO HOUSING BASIC SERVICES
The accessibility of housing and some basic services and amenities are used to
enhance the quality of lives and to improve the living standard of the people.
These are facilities that make the environment functional. They are;
3.10.2 WATER SUPPLY
The sources of water distribution vary from pipe-borne water, well water or
borehole and tanker services. The major source of water in the study area was
pipe-borne water (64%). Water from the public mains hardly ran in the
buildings. The one from public taps situated along the streets was however
utilized by 36% of the respondents.

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The available water supply in the area is not potable, due to poor provision
made for the supply and distribution of the water. Most of the pipes laid for the
distribution of the water were laid in the drainage system and as such
contaminating the water. Thus the quality of the water is affected in various
degrees by the presence of colour and odour.
The implication of this findings is that 36% of residents of Oworonshoki
depend on water supply from unsafe sources thereby lowering the quality of
housing in the area.
Fig 3. Water Pipe Line inside Drainage Channel.

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Fig 4. Sources of water supply
In the study area, water supply was found to be irregular and problem was
observed aggravated during summer months.
Not only the quantity but quality of the drinking water was also found to be
below optimal standards as the water pipes were found broken at several points
which resulted into impairment of the water quality. People were often seen
breaking water pipes at several points in order to meet their water requirements.
The water supply was found to be unfit for drinking as majority of the slum
dwellers complained about the water quality during the personal interactions. In
the present study, the incidence of water borne diseases such as cholera,
dysentery, diarrhoea etc. was common in the slum. The awareness of causes and
ill effects of the water pollution was reported to be negligible as only seventeen
respondents out of ninety eight respondents were found aware about it.
64%
36%
WATER SUPPLY
PIPE BORNE WATER
TAP WATER

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3.10.3 ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
The quality of the environment depends on the functionality of the available
physical infrastructure. The infrastructure is to enhance the functionality of the
environment. Such infrastructure includes; refuse disposal system.
REFUSE DISPOSAL SYSTEM
For residents of the study area, refuse is dumped in the abandoned drainage
channel
Fig 5. Waste disposal in Oworonshoki

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Fig 6. Pie Chart: Refuse Disposal System
From the field survey, (36%) of the wastes are usually dumped, (48%) collected
by waste management, while (16%) are usually burnt. Physical site visits
confirm that some areas of the study area on which buildings are erected are
made up grounds mostly filled with refuse. As a result, the land is unstable. The
implication of these is that the area will not only be unhealthy but destroy and
pollute the environment.
48%
36%
16%
METHOD OF WASTE DISPOSAL
Waste Management Agency
Dumped
burned

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CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
Data collection for the study was undertaken through questionnaires,
discussions, extensive field surveys. Structured questionnaires with both open
and close-ended questions were used. The gathered data were analysed using
simple percentage and descriptive and inferential statistics. Frequencies,
percentages, mean and standard deviation was also used to determine the
analysis for the research.
4.1 AVAILABILITY, ACCESSIBILITY AND MANAGEMENT OF
WATER
Less than 5mins 72%
5 to 10mins 28%
More than 10mins 10%
Fig 7. Distance of house from source
Adequacy of water supply
Adequate in all seasons 52%
Adequate in some
seasons
10%
Always inadequate 38%
Fig 8. Percentage of adequacy of water supply

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None 69%
Some 20
All 11%
Fig 9. Percentage of Male Fetching Water
5-9yrs 12%
10-14yrs 64%
15-19yrs 16%
19 and above 8%
Fig 10. Percentage of female fetching water
About half of the slum dwellers were of the view that the water supply was
adequate in all seasons, whereas the other half complained that it was often
inadequate. Most of the respondents were presently depending on well for
supply of water.
It was found that females were solely responsible for fetching water. Further
analysis showed that in practically all houses it is mainly the young girls aged
10-14years were carrying out this activity. Fetching of water was easily
accessible from their homes, it took less than 5minutes to get to the source of
water.

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4.2 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Out of 25 residents who responded to the questionnaires, Residents in the
community depend on two main sources of water for their daily water supply
needs, Public Tap and bore hole. Residents who responded to the questionnaires
indicate that the public tap flows for about 6hrs a day. According to them, at
certain times water does not flow for weeks and under such conditions residents
depend almost entirely on water vendors for their domestic activities. Some
pipelines to water tanks are exposed and in some cases run through earth drains
containing waste water leading to accumulation of algae in some of the water
tanks that are rarely cleaned. These factors make the quality of water which
serves as the source of drinking water to some residents questionable. It was
gathered from interviews that 25litres bucket of water from the vendors cost
about 70 naira. However, compared with commercial rates, the slum dwellers
pay large sums for their drinking water. In the case of shortage of water in the
community, 72% of respondents depend on water vendors while 28% depend on
public tap. The cost of water can therefore be said to be expensive in the
community. There is therefore need to achieve universal access to water and
improved sanitation and improve their quality of life.
Access to basic sanitation is a huge challenge to residents in the slum in that the
facilities available are not adequate and not accessible. Sanitary conditions in
the slum is also in a deplorable state due to indiscriminate dumping of waste and
choked drains with stagnant water serving as breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

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Piles of waste are not uncommon sights in the community generating offensive
smell to residents some of whom sell food just beside them. However, there is
an allocated refuse dump site in the community where residents are expected to
dump their waste. As a result, informal waste collectors convey refuse from
some residents to the dump site.
There is the need for a multi-sectorial collaboration to ensure that poverty
reduction strategies include access to potable water and basic sanitation for the
urban poor.

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CHAPTER FIVE
5.0 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
The summary of findings is organized according to the result of each of the
research questions tested
5.1 RESEARCH QUESTION 1:-
• How adequate, affordable and accessible are the portable water and waste
disposal services provided for the slum dwellers?
The residents of the community who responded to the questionnaire indicated
that the source of water is easily accessible in almost all seasons, although during
shortage of water, water from the source is inadequate and the cost of water from
water vendors is relatively high. Every solid waste management program needs
funding. Unfortunately, especially in the era of tightening budgets, it is very
difficult to find the needed human and material resources. Shortage of waste
receptacles is another significant reason identified by the residents for
indiscriminate waste dump. Waste receptacle should be easily accessible to the
people; there are many areas in the community without waste receptacles.
Drainages have been completely blocked with refuse. Sometimes waste
receptacles are not emptied for days even though they have been filled with
wastes. As a result, people dump their refuse on the ground, or in thje gutter.

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5.2 RESEARCH QUESTION 2:-
 Are the residents of Oworonshoki aware of the implications of
indiscriminate waste disposal?
The number of respondents indicating that they are aware of the effects of solid
waste in their environment is a clear indication of such problems. They accepted
that solid waste is a breeding ground for disease vectors, they also agreed that
many diseases can be prevented if waste are properly administered and managed.
They are aware that many diseases can be prevented if solid wastes are properly
treated. They agreed that polluted air from refuse dumping sites brings out odour
and respiratory diseases. That source of water can be contaminated by seepage
from refuse dump sites, they agree that both underground and surface water can
be polluted from refuse dump.
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS
The following recommendations were made based on the findings:
1. Government
- Government should provide refuse receptacles in large quantity and place
them at intervals of not more than 200m apart in both residential and
commercial areas.
- Monthly environment sanitation should be introduced.

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- Private sector participation should be allowed in waste collection and
management. This will ensure prompt clearance of waste from dumping
sites.
- Government should sponsor public health education through programmes
on television stations, radio
- Create awareness through bill boards, fliers, posters that enlighten people
on the need to keep the environment clean.
- Sanitary or dumping sites should be properly selected and managed by the
government. This should be far from sources of water.
2. Individuals
- The community leaders, landlords should encourage better sanitation
practices by creating laws that prohibits indiscriminate dumping of waste.
- Every household should have a refuse to be deposited at the central refuse
bin for a total collection.
- People should be fined whenever they go against the environment laws
- Sorting of useful waste should be practiced by individuals. This will
reduce the volume of wastes that will be thrown away
- Recycling though expensive should be enhanced.
3. Organizations
- They should assist the government in creating awareness on public health
implications of indiscriminate waste dumping by:-

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- Donating waste receptacles to localities
- Produce bill-boards, posters and filters that will cater for diverse audience
- Participate in community service of cleaning some places in various
localities
5.4 CONCLUSION
This study reveals that residents in the urban slum community depend solely
on public taps, well water, pipe borne water and water from water vendors as
the only source of water supply for their daily activities. Pipe-borne water is
sold at exorbitant prices to residents; approximately 11 times stipulated
commercial rates. As a result the residents are exposed to adverse health
effects. Erratic flow of pipe borne water in the community has necessitated
storage of pipe borne water in ground level concrete tanks which contributes to
contamination of water. The community depends entirely on poorly maintained
public latrines (pan latrines and KVIP) with offensive odour, fly nuisance and
lack user privacy. These factors in addition to inadequate facilities, lack of
money and behavioural factors contribute to the practice of open defecation in
the slum. Indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the slum as a result of lack of
waste collection containers also poses health risks to residents. There is
however the willingness to pay for waste collection services in the slum. A low
level of political commitment to improving the conditions in the slums exists
in that efforts over the years to improve water and sanitation across the country

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has been targeted at only certain parts of the country to the neglect of slums.
The study recommends the provision of adequate and well-maintained mobile
household toilet facilities by private sanitation service providers due to the fact
that the community lacks adequate land space to construct household latrines
and an improvement in the operation of public latrines in the community.
Health education of residents would also be very instrumental in ensuring a
change in attitude with regards to indiscriminate dumping of waste and open
defecation in the community. Adequate number of communal skip containers
need to be provided at vantage points in the community to collect refuse in the
community. Pipelines carrying potable water should be completely covered to
prevent ingress of external contaminants through pipe joints and these should
be connected to elevated polyethylene tanks instead of ground level concrete
tanks. Moreover, there is the need for the formation of a water vendors
association in order to ensure effective management and price regulation of
water supply services in the community. In sum, efforts to improve the living
conditions of urban slum areas and curtail urban slum formation should be
intensified and be given the necessary political commitment to ward off the
numerous health risks to which urban slum dwellers are exposed. Developing
countries, though poor, should develop area-specific solutions to their
problems in the management of municipal solid waste. Consideration of the
composition of MSW can help developing countries make the correct choices
in importing MSW handling equipment. For example, there is no need to

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import compactor trucks which are suitable to less dense MSW; dense MSW
which needs no compaction but just needs hauling trucks which might be
cheaper. Other management issues that need be taken into consideration
include decentralization through subdivision of urban areas into small units
(boroughs) in order to enhance management and service provision. Community
involvement through neighbourhood groups of people from middle and higher
income groups and business individuals can provide the needed solution in
mobilization of community-based efforts. Clean neighbourhood groups can
mobilize financial resources and engage private groups or hire private trucks to
occasionally collect and dispose MSW from their neighbourhoods. Other
measures include cultivation of a sense of clean environment through clean
community awareness programmes.
These can go a long way in sensitising people to keep the environment clean.
Regular activities such as clean-up of the neighbourhoods, schools, parks and
roadsides can be effective in changing the attitudes even among the poor
communities. In general, the proper management of municipal solid waste is
determined by the attitudes of people towards waste, such as the ability to
refrain from indiscriminate dumping.

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CHAPTER SIX
6.0 REFERENCES
Adebayo, W.O (1995). “Environmental Consequences of wastes Generation and
Disposal Techniques” Environmental Issues, Vol. 1, No.1, pp 1-4
Adegoke, S.O (1990) “Waste Mangement within the context of sustainable
development.” FEPA, Abuja.
Andrea Telmo C. (2002) “A water supply and sanitation study of the villageof
Gouansolo in Mali, West Africa.”
APHA (American Public Health Association) Standard methods for
examination of water and waste water. In: Eaton AD, Clescerils, Greenberg
AE,editors.19th
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Bartram, J and Cairncross, S (2010). Hygiene, Sanitation and Water: Forgotten
Foundations of Health. PL0SMed7 (11)
Charls Peprah et al.(2015). “Analysis of accessibility to water supply and
sanitation services in the awutu-senya east municipiality, Ghana”
Malaviya, P. and Bhagat, N.K (2013),”Urban Poverty and health risk factors: A
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Manjistha Banerji (2005): Provision of Basic Services in the slums and
resettlement colonies of Delhi, New Delhi.

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Monney,I(2013): Evaluating Access to potable water and Basic sanitation in
Ghana. Journal of Environment and Earth science. ISSN 2224-3216(paper)
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