Community Water Use and Storage Practices Around a River Impacted by Hospital Effluent in Ido Ekiti, Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Communities living near rivers receiving hospital effluent may experience repeated exposure to contaminated water through domestic activities, particularly where household water treatment, storage and sanitation practices are suboptimal. Understanding these practices is important for identifying potential exposure pathways and informing appropriate water, sanitation and hygiene interventions. Aims: The study aims to investigate the water use, storage and sanitation practices of households residing within the vicinity of a river that receives hospital effluent in Ido Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. Study Design: A descriptive cross-sectional survey. Place and Duration of Study: Households within the vicinity of the river locally known as the Baba Jibulu River, Ido Ekiti, Ido/Osi Local Government Area, Ekiti State, Nigeria, adjacent to the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti; the survey was administered within the first two months of a twelve-month study that also included longitudinal river water sampling across the rainy and dry seasons. Methodology: A structured questionnaire adapted from the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme core questions on household drinking-water and sanitation was administered to 150 households selected by systematic sampling. Data covered sociodemographic characteristics, water use, treatment, storage, handling and sanitation practices, and were summarised as frequencies and percentages. Results: Slightly more than half of the respondents were female (50.7%), and most (77.3%) did not rely on the river as their primary water source; nevertheless, 95.3% used it for washing and 61.3% for bathing, with 27.3% bathing in it three times daily. Only 6.0% treated river water before use, mostly by boiling (44.4%), and 61.0% considered treatment unnecessary. Water was mainly stored in tanks (34.9%) or plastic containers (30.2%), usually for about one week (67.8%), and half of respondents (50.0%) withdrew stored water using a cup. Open defecation was practised by 9.3% of households, a behaviour with the potential to worsen faecal contamination of the river. Conclusion: Households around the Ido Ekiti River continue to use it extensively for washing and bathing despite the availability of alternative water sources, while low rates of household water treatment, prolonged storage and unsafe withdrawal practices heighten the potential for exposure to waterborne and antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. Targeted water, sanitation and hygiene education is recommended for this and comparable riverine communities.