ESTIMATING WATER NEEDS FOR WUKARI TOWN, TARABA STATE, NIGERIA

The aim is this paper is to estimate water needs of Wukari town. The main objectives include   sources of water supply, water per capita use, household sizes and the activity pattern of water uses. Wukari town has an estimated population of about one hundred and twenty-seven thousand one hundred and ninety-nine persons (127,199) based on 2006 population census figures.  This study adopted descriptive survey design in administering three hundred (300) structured questionnaires in the three (3) political wards namely Avyi ward (49,121) persons, Hospital ward (50,223) persons and Puje ward (27,855) persons respectively using the simple random sampling methods. Field survey revealed that sources of water supply in area include ephemeral stream, ponds, hand dug shallow wells, and bore holes which are vended on hand pushed truck and water tankers. Household size ranges from between 7 persons while the water per capita is 30 l/p/d which is below the national water per capita of 63 l/p/d for urban areas. The potential water needs for Wukari was calculated to be 4,457,052,960 liters per annum. Although, there is a piped network, this piped network has not yielded any drop of water for the past three decades.  The average annual rainfall of 88.72 mm is a potential for rainwater harvesting to argument the water scarcity faced by residents especially during the four months dry spell. This study therefore concludes by advocating for a collaborative effort between related stakeholders in the water sector so as to ease the drudgery faced by consumers.