Water has been recognized as an essential requirement of all living
being and breathing things. It is for this reason that every
government the world over struggle to provide and maintain
reliable water supply to meet the multifarious domestic, industrial
and social needs of their citizenry. This has also constituted a
priority of urban development especially in the developing
countries. This paper is, therefore, designed to summarize the
findings of determination of water supply and demands in Owo,
Ondo State, Nigeria. The research team used both direct and
indirect methods of data acquisition. The methodology produced
some illuminating insights into the situation as well as problems of
water supply in the city. The paper also identifies the implications
of inadequate and unreliable safe drinking water supply in Nigerian city for sustainable city development. The study found that while
the aggregate water demand is rising in the city the supply to cope
from public source is decreasing due to a number of factors, which
include several years of neglect of water supply facilities and the
extension of water infrastructure to the newly developing areas of
the city. The paper recommended a new approach to water supply
to embrace more citizen participation as well as transfer of water
supply to local government in line with global practice. The paper
concluded that the present approach to piped water supply is
inadequate or appropriate to meet the needs of the city in a
sustainable way.