One of the central issues arising from poverty in developing countries is
access to improved water and sanitation. On this basis, Water Poverty
Index (WPI) concept is designed to generate an integrated assessment of
water stress and scarcity among population of different size. This study
examined the supply and demand of domestic water from various sources;
the proportion of population having access to safe water and improved
sanitation as well as the time spent in sourcing domestic water in Akoko
Northeast LGA. Topographical map at scale 1:50,000 and SPOT multispectral
image of 5m resolution are adopted for the terrain modeling and
mapping. Conventional composite index approach of WPI is adopted for
the evaluation of adjusted water availability and use, access to safe water
and improved sanitation, and time. Additional records sourced through
social survey instruments, field measurements and documented records
between May 2008 and November 2009 for respective attributes on the
water, sanitation and time faxtors. They were integrated in an ArcGIS
environment for spatial analysis. The terrain model reveals that the area is
of rugged topography. Judging the average household income, distance
and time spent in fetching water including the waiting hours, an average
household in the study area is estimated to lose about ?1,208.6 daily. The
WPI result shows that all communities are generally water poor with
average index point = 14.75. Poor yield of groundwater, seasonality of
surface water, poor income and unhealthy population are attributed to the
high value.