Responsibility of water supply in Nigeria is shared between three (3) levels of government – federal, state and local. The federal government is in charge of water resources management; state governments have the primary responsibility for urban water supply; and local governments together with communities are responsible for rural water supply. The responsibility for sanitation is not clearly defined.

Water supply service quality and cost recovery are low. Water tariffs are low and many water users do not pay their bills. Service providers thus rely mostly on occasional subsidies to cover their operating costs.

National policies and Initiatives encourages the participation of private sector and reform of policy at the State level. The national water supply and sanitation recognizes the importance of water supply and sanitation as it is central to healthy society and national development.

In interviews, Kemi Badenoch, who became leader of the Conservative Party in November 2024, has shared that during her childhood in Nigeria, her family struggled with unreliable water and electricity supplies. This experience influenced her political views, especially her opposition to socialism and is part of the reason she values infrastructure stability and free markets, having witnessed firsthand the challenges of living without consistent access to basic utilities.

Access

As of 2015, 67% of the total population of Nigeria had access to at least basic water supplies. This was 82% of the urban population and 54% of the rural population. Most people in Nigeria do not have access to clean water, especially in the rural areas. The global water sanitation and hygiene statistics shows that 79 per cent of Nigerians go through the challenge of water scarcity. In 2015, about 60 million people lacked access to "at least basic" water. As for sanitation, only 33% of the total population had access to "at least basic" sanitation. This was 39% of the urban population and 27% of the rural population. Approximately 122 million people still lacked access to "at least basic" sanitation.WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation.

In the urban areas, access to standpipes substituted to a large extent to piped water access.

Adequate sanitation is typically in the form of septic tanks, as there is no central sewage system.

The statistics on access to water and sanitation are conflicting due to divergent definitions, indicators and methodologies applied by different agencies. There is hardly any sector monitoring.John Gambo Laah, Ph.D., Water and Sanitation Monitoring Platform (WSMP), Nigeria: Nigeria Water and Sanitation Summary Sheet, no date

According to Guardian News: "The Head of Advocacy, Policy and Communication, Water Aid Nigeria, Kolawole Banwo, said out of the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria, only 76 are free of the status of open defecation in the country, this sanitation crisis remains a critical issue that needs urgent action".

According to a report published by Amnesty International in September, the oil company Shell and government of Rivers State, in southern Nigeria are not doing enough to provide clean water in Ogale, an area outside of the state capital. Residents are either forced to buy water at un-affordable prices or drink from wells that are contaminated with benzene.

Service quality According to the World Bank, in 2010, "water production facilities in Nigeria were rarely not operating to optimum capacity due to broken down equipment, or lack of power supply or fuel for pumping." The operating cost of water agencies is increased by the need to rely on diesel generators or even having to build their own power plants, since power supply is erratic. Equipment and pipes are poorly maintained, leading to intermittent supply and high levels of non-revenue water.

As of 2000, about 80% of all government-owned (public operated) water systems in small towns were non-operational. Through investments and capacity building for communities, the functionality of water points can be increased in the short term. For example, in focus communities supported by UNICEF in Kwara State, functionality has improved from 53% to 98%, and in Kebbi state, the functionality of boreholes have improved from 12% to 88%. However, it is not clear how well these facilities will continue to function in the long term, after international intervention has ended.

In the second decade of the 2000s, it was measured with the presence of metalloids in the water supply designated both to the human and the agricultural use, in some cases with value exceeding the international WHO limits (e.g. in the areas surrounding Zaria, Abakaliki, Ibadan and Onitsha). Polluting of metalloids and particularly of arsenic- varies in a relevant measure during the dry and wet season, due to the mineralization of well and borehole waters and partially to the mining industry activities.. Citation: High arsenic concentrations can occur locally in surface waters (as well as ground waters) in areas of bedrock sulphide mineralization or mining activity, industrial contaminations, or areas affected by geothermal activity and in surface waters that are fed by high-arsenic groundwater. The same seasonality of arsenic's tenor has been observed in muscle tissues of demersal fish species. Citation: This calls for continuous monitoring and enforcement of regulations to ensure safety of fishery resources from Lagos Lagoon. Therefore, the problem of contamination is not completely solved not even for the Nigerian fishing industry and further studies (or regulations) are needed.

Efficiency

Water supply and sanitation are not provided efficiently in Nigeria. For example, state water agencies are massively overstaffed. In 2000, there were about 70 staff per 1,000 customers in state water agencies, compared to a best practice ratio of 3.5. Non-revenue water often exceeds 50 percent.USAID: Nigeria Water and Sanitation Profile, ca. 2007

Water supply by state

Abuja

Nigeria's capital, Abuja, receives part of its drinking water from the Lower Usuma Dam reservoir. In September 2013, the Federal Capital Territory Water Board (FCTWB) which is the agency that is responsible in providing potable water in the Federal Capital Territory commissioned phase 3 and 4 of the Lower Usman Dam Treatment Plant(LUDWTP) project which began in November 2011. All phases of the project (phase 1, 2, 3, and 4) and the Gurara Dam Reservoir source for raw water from the Lower Usuma Dam reservoir which when combined, has the ability to process 720 million litres of clean water per day to Abuja and her neighbours.

Wastewater is treated at Federal Capital Territory Sewage Treatment Plant located in the Wupa district of Abuja, was constructed by SCC Nigeria Limited and commissioned by President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Enugu

Enugu is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The Enugu State Water Corporation is the agency in charge of water supply in Enugu State, headed by the managing director. Inadequate water supply has been one of the major challenges of the government of Enugu which could be attributed to mis-managed infrastructures and erosion at the Ajali Water Works which supplies of water daily. The Enugu State House of Assembly in July 2021 passed a bill tagged "the right access to basic water and sanitation services". This bill was moved in a bid to improve water supply and sanitation services in the state.

The Enugu State government began the rehabilitation of the 9th Mile Crash Programme in November 2021 after the project was abandoned for over 30 years. This project was carried out by FordMarx Nigeria Limited.

Lagos

Nigeria's largest city by population, Lagos is surrounded by water from the sea and a lagoon. The total estimated percentage of clean water supply in the city is about 81.32%. However, since the raw water in the lagoon is too polluted, the city gets its water from the Ogun and Owo rivers. The city's oldest water treatment plant, located in Iju on the Ogun River, was built in 1910. It was expanded in stages to 45m gallons per day. Another smaller plant was built at Ishashi on the Owo River in the 1970s.

The biggest plant so far was commissioned in 1991 in Adiyan with a capacity of 70m gallons per day. It also draws from the Owo River. There are also seven mini-waterworks drawing from local sources with a combined capacity of 18m gallons per day. The Lagos Water Corporation states that the water produced in the plant meets the highest standards, and that it supplies "safe drinking water in sufficient and regular quantity to over 12.5 million people in Lagos State".

LASWARCO (Lagos Water Corporation) also embarked on a study tour of the National water supply and sanitation council in Zambia in order to resolve the basic factors responsible for water supply and sanitation crisis and required ways in solving the problem. However, water is often contaminated in the distribution network and people distrust tap water quality. Electricity supply interruptions prevent treatment plants from operating continuously. However, a dedicated 12.15 MW power plant was under construction in 2012 to supply power to the Adiyan, Iju and Akute water treatment plants.

Households also source water from numerous private shallow wells. Or households rely on street vendors, creating a thriving market for "sachet water", purified water packaged in polyethylene pouches. Water vendors called Mairuwa sell water from tanks and drums on carts, which is sometimes sold to other vendors that carry water in buckets or gerry cans. Access to water provided by the state Water Corporation is 'metropocentric' i.e., centred around the metropolis.Kunnuji, Michael O. N. (2014). Spatial variations in access to improved sanitation and water in Lagos state. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 4(4), 612 – 619.

Due to inadequate supply to in the society, people revolted on getting water from any source for domestic use. 40% of homes depends on well for domestic use; 32% on vendors for their water; 7% of homes depends on public boreholes and 19% on tankers, river/streams and rain water which isn't available in dry season.

Benue

In Makurdi, the capital of Benue State, only about 25-30% of the population are served and inhabitants fetch raw water in buckets from the polluted Benue river. In 2008, the construction of a water treatment plant was left unfinished and officials were unable to account for US$6 million. As of 2012, a water treatment plant was under construction as part of the Greater Makurdi Waterworks Project. According to Nat Apir, an independent water consultant, the lack of a modern distribution network will lead pipes to burst and the capacity of the plant is at risk of not being fully utilized.

The streams/rivers contribute 27.89% in dry season and 24.16% in wet season, rainwater as 0.00% in dry season and 27.22% in wet season. In Ugbokolo community, the demand of water is higher (155,788 lpd) than the available supply (113,249 lpd) across the community.

Imo

After 24 years of operating without portable water, in 2020, the Imo state government under the administration of Senator Hope Uzodinma, Governor of Imo State, released funds to revive the urban WASH sector, resulting in Imo residents having access to safely managed water supply, sanitation and hygiene services. Under Engr Emeka Celestine Ugoanyanwu, Imo State Water and Sewerage Corporation underwent major institutional, policy and regulatory transformation, leading to the rehabilitation of Otammiri Waterworks and other water schemes under the Corporation's jurisdiction. Hence the governor also directed that a holistic rehabilitation be done in the WASH sector in line with modern technology.

According to USAID, the Imo State Water and Sewerage Corporation (ISWSC) supplies water to 3 million Nigerians in Imo state.

Oyo