Community Awareness and Evaluation of Surface Water Bodies in Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria

This study covers the examination of socio-economic characteristics of residents, identification of different types of surface water bodies, determination of level of accessibility of those water bodies, the evaluation of the water bodies and the identification of the challenges being faced by communities in Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria using four hundred (400) well-structured questionnaires. Data obtained were analyzed using frequency counts and percentages with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 15. Result showed that, 58.3% were married, the male (54.2%) respondents were higher than the females, and the occupation of the majority were informal sector (37.1%). Also, the highest age group was 15-25 years (34.3%) while family size of 2-3 members (61.1%) were higher than the other categories. Educational qualifications ranged from 2.2% - Primary School Certificate holders to 30.5% - NCE/OND/HND (30.5%) graduates. Eighty-one percent of the respondents were aware of the water bodies. River (37.7%) and stream (38.1%) were the major water sources in the study area, and one of the rivers was dammed and used for religious and traditional purposes. The Rate of obtaining the water varied from regularly (19.6%) to rarely (28%) while the Reasons for obtaining water ranged from its natural state (5.9%) to lack of portable water source (27.4%). Approximately fifty-three percent (52.7%) respondents had contacted one disease or the other ranging from bilharzias (6.2%) to malaria (18.1%) due to the use of the water while scarcity during the dry season has often resulted in frequent clashes among most users. Therefore, this study suggests that government and its agencies should provide portable water, care and maintenance of surface water bodies.