Feasibility Of Rain Water Harvesting In Ikole Ekiti For Domestic Use A Focus On Quality And Quantity

ABSTRACT

Water scarcity is a problem in many parts of the world. In some regions, there is physical water

scarcity because there are not enough resources of water to meet the increasing demand, while

other parts of the world have an economic scarcity, where resources are more abundant but poor

governance and other problems render water unavailable for most of the population. Where the

problem is economic water scarcity, there are many solutions that could ameliorate the problem,

but most times the solutions require a change in government, more economic resources and a

better willingness. The quality of water sources in the fkole-Ekiti has been questioned due to

activities that pollute and decline the availability of water in the area. Therefore, there is the need

to ascertain tile quality and quantity of water obtained by rainwater harvesting. For the rain water

quality, the samples were analyzed for Turbidity, Color, Electrical conductivity, Total hardness,

Total alkalinity, Nitrate., Fluoride, Water PH, Coliform count, Temperature, Total dissolved,

BOD, Chloride, Magnesium, Lead. In addition to this, survey questionnaires were administered

to 40 households to obtain data on their water usage. Results showed that on the chemical

characteristics of the water samples from rainwater, hand dug well and borehole were within the

WHO and NSDQW acceptable range in relation to the total solid and Nitrate test and Iron.

However, the rain water sample had it distinction from other samples in most of the test such as

turbidity, electric conductivity, Nitrate, Total alkalinity, magnesium etc. except from the chloride

and PH value test due to its acidic nature. The biological parameter such as the bacteria count

test, the rain water and borehole sample met required standard for drinking water quality, while the hand dug well water samples did not meet the standards for drinking water quality.