Examination of People’s Perception of the Quality of Groundwater and Health Implications in Suleimanti Area, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria

Abstract

The paper examines the people’s perception
of the quality of groundwater and health
implications in the Suleimanti area of
Maiduguri Metropolis. Suleimanti area is
characterized as a slum area in Maiduguri
and has no planned drainages and waste
disposal facilities. Solid and liquid wastes are
disposed in an open space and pit latrines are
the major means of sanitary waste disposal.
The inhabitants of the area have been
recording yearly outbreaks of Cholera,
dysentery, and other forms of related
waterborne diseases. Studies conducted
revealed that it has been attributed to intake
of poor or contaminated groundwater in the
area which is the major source of drinking
water. The Nigerian standard for drinking
water recommends that water from borehole
sources whether deep or shallow should be
checked every six months. Therefore, it is
against this background that this paper
examines the people’s perception of the
quality of groundwater and health
implications in the area. The specific
objectives of this study were to examine the
people’s perception of the quality of
groundwater and health implications in the
area. The methods used for the study include
primary data collected using a closed-ended
questionnaire. A questionnaire was
administered to 300 people that were
randomly and accidentally sampled.
Household heads were randomly selected and
other respondents were accidently sampled in
the communities where the water samples
were collected. The water samples were
collected using the standard procedures. The
major finding of the research was that
Typhoid, cholera, and diarrhoea are found to
be the dominant illnesses in the research area.
Typhoid was reported to be a prevalent
disease by 47.7% of the respondents while
Cholera and diarrhoea have 18% and 15.4%
respectively. These certainly are diseases
associated with drinking polluted or
contaminated water. Eighty percent of the
respondents are aware that drinking
contaminated water can cause diseases such
as typhoid, cholera, and diarrhoea that are
prevalent in the area. Based on the findings,
the following recommendations were made
Microbial contaminants were present in
various groundwater sources. It is
recommended that users should boil and filter
the water before drinking.