Rural Africa Water Development

Project

Nigeria as a Base Camp

Joachim Ibeziako Ezeji

Project Coordinator/CEO
 Country Profile
• Population: 130.2million (UN 2005)
• Capital: Abuja
• Administrative Structure: 36 states
• Area: 923,768 km2
• Urban Population: 50%
– growth rate of 5.5% per annum
• Poverty level: Between 54.4% and 70%
 Outline
• Country Profile
• Objectives & Project Locations
• Sanitation and Water Problems
• Case Studies
• Addressing the challenges
• 6 Major Activities
• More about RAWDP
• Questions
Country profile
 Water Resources
Endowment
• Surface Water : 268 billion m3
• Groundwater:52 billion m3
• Major rivers: 24
• Large lake: 1
• Natural Springs: Several
• Rainfall
– in the South, about 2000 mL
– in the North, less than 400mL
 Our Objectives
• To promote public health through appropriate
sanitation and hygiene interventions.
• To improve access to safe drinking water
through household water treatment
technologies and other interventions.
• To promote productive uses and management
of water as a poverty alleviation strategy.
• To promote gender concerns in water and
sanitation projects.
 Location of Projects
• Currently based in eastern Nigeria
– covers eleven states of Nigeria.
– includes the 9 oil producing states of the
Niger Delta.
• We currently have a reach and plan
for 7 states in this region
– Imo, Abia, Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom,
Ondo, and Bayelsa states.
 Problems (Water)
• Over 10 million people found in
the oil-bearing Niger Delta are
vulnerable to these concerns

• Public health concerns associated

with industrial pollution

• High population density and

poorly managed on-site
sanitation
 Problems (Water cont.)

• Leachate plumes and organic

growth in water wells

• As of today, many abandoned

and comatose boreholes dot
the entire landscape.

• The environmental regulatory

laws have not been well
enforced.
 Problems (Sanitation)
• Open Defecation

• No central sewerage system

• No treatment site for emptied human waste

• Many households share sanitary facilities with an

average user ratio of 20 persons per latrine per day

• Poor drainage systems

• Aesthetic problems and smells

 Case Study:
Port Harcourt City
Sanitation
• Population of 2.5 million people
– Annual growth rate of 5.5%.
• Approximately 2,000 tons of fecal
sludge generated daily in the city.
• Open defecation is still common.
• About 85% of households in Port
Harcourt share sanitary facilities
with a user ratio of 50 persons per
latrine (toilet) per day.
• The two Local Government Councils
in the city have no defined strategy
for this problem.
 Case Study:
Port Harcourt City Water
Personal
Boreholes
20%

Utility
5%

Commercial
Mobile Boreholes
Vendors 60%
15%

Once sourced, only 2% use relevant Point of Use treatment technologies

 Case Study
Uboma, Imo State

Regional Topography
•Hilly in the north and
west
•Massive clays and beds of
old shale with roughly
developed bands of chert
•Rapid surface runoff has
cut deep, steep-sided gullies
in the flanks of the hills.
•Relatively flat in the
south
 Case Study:
Uboma, Imo State
• Population:10,000
• Average Household Income:
US $2.5 per day
• State of Infrastructure: Poor
• Current Domestic Water
Usage:15-30L/person/day
• No latrines in local markets
and public spots.
• Open defecation is rife.
• The few latrines are
primitive, filthy, smelly and
with lots of flies.
 Case Study
State Water Utilities

• UNICEF and WHO recently conducted an

urban water assessment in Nigeria.
• Poor performance of many public water
agencies in the supply of potable water to
the people.
– The report urged the government to establish
national regulatory agency for sanitation and
water supply schemes in the country.

Source: Adeze Ojukwu, Daily Champion, May 5, 2006.

 Addressing these
challenges
We Act through:
• Action research
• Networking and advocacy
• Action intervention
• Capacity Building
 Research
• Use of Moringa Oleifera plant in rural water treatment

• Use of Dual Rotary (DR) drills in unstable overburden formations

• Use of hydra-drill in private development of boreholes

• Studies on the productive uses of water

• Studies on urban renewal strategies in the Niger Delta

• Studies on the efficiency of waste stabilization ponds

and photo-re-mediation technologies in Nigeria

• Studies on Aquitards in Southeastern Nigeria

 Networking and
Advocacy
• RAWDP has advanced campaigns
through the media (print and
electronic) and oral (symposia,
workshops and conferences) on
– Integrated water resource management
– Sanitation and hygiene issues
– Gender mainstreaming in the water
sector
 Action Intervention
• Mainly on household water treatment
using:
– Bio-sand filter
– Moringa oleifera
– Mor-Sand Filter
The Mor-sand Filter
Filter Under Construction
Completed Filter
Filter in Use
 1 Major Activity
st

• Rural Household Bio-Sand Filter

Installations
– sponsored by the African Development
Bank.
– A safe water intervention that included:
• Value Based Water
• Sanitation promotion and hygiene education in
local households
– Project started in June 2003 and covered
2,000 households in Nigeria
 2 nd
Major Activity
• Urban Water Quality Test
Campaigns
– sponsored by the
International Water
Association and American
Clean Water Foundation
– A global educational
exercise designed to raise
awareness and stimulate
interest in the importance
of clean water for everyone
on the planet.
– Project was from 9/2004 –
10/2005.
 3 Major Activity
rd

• Participatory WATSAN
(Water and Sanitation)
Assessment Exercise
– involved urban
stakeholder teams in Jos,
Nigeria
– Water for African Cities
Phase II (WACII) Project
• also had a gender lens
– Project was in 2005
 4 Major Activity
th

• Moringa oleifera (Mo) for clean water

project
– sponsored by the World Bank
– consists of the cultivation, promotion
and marketing of the ground Mo seeds
as an alternative conditioner in water
treatment
– Project was in 2005
The Moringa oleifera
pods
 5 Major Activity
th

• Geophysical Surveys
and Borehole Drilling
Program
– sponsored by private
owners/users.
– in urban, peri-urban and
rural parts of Eastern
Nigeria
– Project began in 1998
and still continues
 6th Major Activity
• Mor-sand Filter for Oil
Producing Communities
Project
– sponsored by the World
Bank Development
Marketplace
– in environmentally degraded
oil producing communities in
Niger delta region Nigeria.
– consists of manufacturing
filters training community
youths, and marketing of
these clean water filters
– currently a start up.
 Another Initiative!
• Mechanical latrine emptying, upgrading
and short listing in Port Harcourt.
– Partnering with the public sector
• improve public health, personal dignity and the quality
of the living environment.
– Project specific areas of interest include:
• the emptying of septic tanks and pits
– treat the waste for reuse in agriculture
• building of latrines
• sanitation promotional trainings etc.
– The project is built on the realization that all
septic tanks and pits will eventually become full
of accumulated human sludge.
 Who works with me?
• I work with a team of
young scientists,
engineers and
managers who are
service minded.
• We have opted to use
our talent and learning
RAWDP delegation at a reception
to assist poor people with some members of the African
who live in poor remote community in Toronto, Canada.
communities in eastern
Nigeria.
 Recent Awards &
Recognition
• Innovative Project Prize from African
Development Bank 2004.
• Most Creative Idea Award from the World Bank
Development Marketplace 2005.
• Recognition Award from the World Bank
Development Marketplace 2005 and 2006.
• World Bank Development Marketplace
Winner/Grant Award 2006.
• Business in Development (BID) Challenge Award
2006.
• Tech Museum Laureate 2006 Award to RAWDP
Founder.
 Our Foreign
Partners/Supporters
• The Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation
(CAWST)
– Calgary, Canada
• Broad African Resource Centre
– Toronto, Canada
• The Gender and Water Alliance
– Netherlands
• Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW)
– Stanford University and the University at Buffalo
• The Water, Environment Development Centre
– Loughborough University, UK.
• The African Development Bank (AfDB).
• The World Bank
 Local Partners
• The Imo State – Nigeria Ministry of
Public Utilities and Rural
Development.
• Rotary, Rotaract and Leo Clubs in
Eastern Nigeria (District 9140).
• Imo State Water Development
Agency (IWADA) Owerri.
• Ten Local Councils in the Niger Delta.
 Desired Support:
• We need your support in this project
as:
– Volunteers
– Benefactors
– Donors.
• Nothing, I mean nothing is too
meager for us.
 Questions & Contact
• Thank you!

• Email me: ruralafrwadp@yahoo.com

• Email ESW: esw_ub@yahoo.com