Evaluation of Access to Public Water Supply in Two Major Cities in Nigeria

The issue of access to portable public water supply in the last three decades has been a topical issue of high interest to several individuals, communities, organizations and governments. In the face of dwindling and depleting water resources, there is the general concern of how people will have unhindered access to portable water supply. This paper against this background examined differences in public perception of access to portable water supply on the basis of some socio-economic and demographic factors such as gender, socio-economic background and marital status. The findings showed that there was a significant difference in public perception based on gender while there were no differences on the basis of marital status and socio-economic background. The implications of these findings for water resources management was discussed and recommendation made as to how access to public water supply can be easily guaranteed and sustained over time.