Though water resource is an important natural endowment for the attainment of improved living conditions and sustainable development, man’s consumptive demand for it continued to fall short of the supplies. This is especially in the rural communities of the semi-arid region of Nigeria, whose most water sources are unimproved and the supplies from which fall below the demand, resulting in water scarcity. The study assessed the environmental perspective of the rural households’ susceptibility to water scarcity in Nigeria. The study employed multistage sampling, the mixed-method approach of data sourcing, and the data were analyzed with the basic descriptive and inferential statistical tools. The study findings show the continued practice of extended family system, characterized with low literacy rate and weak income levels, use of shared latrines, as well as defecation in the bushes and open spaces. It also demonstrated nine-in-ten households are vulnerable to the complex conditions of water scarcity, especially those in Kerri-Kerri Formation and the Fika Shale, as the Pearson correlation of the conditions revealed. The linear regression model of the correlated variables statistically proved to have accounted for more than 60% of the water crisis. However, the households’ adaptation strategies to water scarcity were traditional and highly ineffective to the problem of water scarcity conditions of the area. This denotes that the environmental variability influences both water availability and vulnerability to scarcity. Therefore, the study recommends the mainstreaming of the physical environmental conditions into the rural water policy, in addition to upgrading and maintenance of the available water facilities.
Background: Water is the most important natural resource that guarantees socio-economic development and quality of man’s life, while its consumptive demand increases in response to the geographic diversities of the human population. Aim: This study examined the influence of some geographic variables on households’ exposure to water scarcity during the COVID-19 pandemic in Potiskum town, Yobe State. Methods: Online survey was conducted on the households’ water demand and availability, while the data were analyzed with both descriptive and inferential statistical models. Findings: It highlighted that about 34% of the households were using unimproved water sources, which increases their spatial distance coverage, time, and energy expenditures for the water fetching. The WSVI demonstrated the exposure of 60.2% of the households to the varying levels of water scarcity, which constitute a threat to the attainment of SDG 6 and compliance with the COVID-19 pandemic’s safety measures. Similarly, the geographic determinants were found to statistically correlate with the dynamics of the water supply. Whereas, the linear regression model of the determinants was found to account for 32.7% of the households’ susceptibility to the water crisis. Conclusion: It affirmed the presence of water scarcity, attributed to the geographic factors, and prompted by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, it suggests increased investments in the urban water sector, towards improving affordable access to the water supply and enhanced WASH service, which reduces the vulnerability of the households to water crisis and transmission of contagious diseases such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
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