THE CONTRIBUTION OF NEW WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF ALHAMDURI COMMUNITY IN MAIDUGURI, BORNO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Most developing nations are confronted with urbanization issues which have put strain on public infrastructure and institutions responsible for providing resources to their populations. In a mediated modeling application of the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) approach, opinions of the stakeholders of Alhamduri Water Works (AWW) were gathered using a structured questionnaire and 100 stakeholders were chosen using the purposeful sampling technique, from whom both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Descriptive and Likert Scale statistics were used to analyze the data. The findings showed that 73 of the project's beneficiaries and 16 employees of the AWW were men, the average age of the community's residents and staff  members  of AWW was 46 and 43 years respectively, 24 residents of the community and 7 staff of AWW  had HND degree respectively, residents of the community and workers of AWW had a household size of  7 and 9 respectively. A bid of ₦400 monthly was made to the recipients of the water supply. While 58 community members were willing to pay the bid, 22 others felt the price was too high, 19 claimed they are too poor to pay the bid, and 2 wanted it for free. The mean willingness to pay for improved water supply was determined as ₦399.95. Therefore, the study suggests that the management of AWW should address inefficient management plans that impede efficient water supply within the community, and that government agencies and security personnel be dispatched to the community in order to protect the community's residents and the facilities.