INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

One of the Millennium Development Goals formulated by the United Nations and signed by many countries is to ‘halve the proportion of people who are unable to reach or afford safe drinking water (UN, 2000). This target was to be realized by 2015, which seemed to be very ambitious since still one billion people over the world lack access to safe drinking water. But during the 1990s nearly one billion people gained already access to safe drinking water.

(UNDP, 2000) Low access to safe drinking water is also the case in Cameroon. In Cameroon, only about 60% of the people have access to safe drinking water (World Bank, 2003). In the Northwest Region, only 29% of the families are currently having access to safe drinking water. The objective of Plan Cameroon was to enlarge this percentage in the whole of Cameroon to 50% in the year 2010.

Since so many people are not having access to safe drinking water, sustainability becomes more and more important. Only when sustainable water systems are implemented it will provide lasting change in the lives of these people, which makes it possible to go further to support other communities.

This contributes to the mission and strategy of Cameroon to provide long-lasting improvements, assist as many children as possible and their commitment towards the millennium development goals. Besides this, other arguments like an efficient use of resources are relevant when talking about sustainability

Because of the hilly landscape and the presence of springs in the gravity of the hill, water systems have become widely used in the Northwest Region, though wells are also used for the supply of water. Water is intercepted at a spring and is led by pipes or directly to one or more catchments. From the catchment pipes lead the water to water reservoirs.

From the reservoirs, it is lead to the tap(s) for the community. The reservoir fills at night to provide enough water during the day (de Kruijf, 2005). For the providence of water during the dry season, special trees retaining water are planted at the reservoirs

 An advantage of this system is that the force of gravity provides the needed energy to lead the water from the hills to the community. This has a major influence on the costs and efforts of the operation and maintenance of the system.

Statement of the problem

Over the years, the population of Bambili has increased, as such; there are difficulties in accessing water, making it difficult for all to have easy access to potable water. Therefore, how does the poor water supply in Bambili affect the population and how can it be sustained?

General Objective

The main objective of this research was to assess the sustainability of the water supply in the Bambili locality.

Specific Objectives

The specific objectives of this research were

1. To find out if the quantity of water supplied was sufficient?
2. To find out if the quality of the water was good?
3. To investigate if the water supply was sustained?

Relevant Research Question

The relevant question for this research is

1. How is the water supply in Bambili sustained?

Hypothesis

Null hypothesis: Water supply (quality & quantity) is of great concern in the population of Bambili

Alternative hypothesis: Water supply (quality & quantity) is not of great concern in the population of Bambili

Significance of the study

This study is important in that it could help the Bambili water community, especially the Bambili water Authority to know the measures taken to   sustain a water project and also to create awareness amongst students not to wastewater.

Delimitation of the study

This study was limited only to Bambili in the Tubah sub-division of Mezam (North West Region of Cameroon)

0.9 Limitation of the Study

Since the study was limited to sample size in Bambili, the results obtained may differ from those obtained from another sample size or different locality.