Residents’ Perception on the Challenges of Accessing Potable Water in the Rural Areas of Taraba State, Nigeria

The objective of the study was to investigate the challenges encounter in the course of water search in the rural areas of Taraba State. The use of open and closed-ended questionnaires, oral interviewed and personal observations was conducted in the study-region. The results show that there was adequate awareness of the people on different forms of challenges constraining the easy search for water in the study region. The results also show that long distance trek to the source of water and the time taken to acquire water were the major challenges constraining the search for water in the just named location. The results further show that artificial water scarcity and government insincerity were the major reasons for the challenges furthermore the majority of the population in the study region depends on surface water sources. The study therefore, recommends that: 1. the people of the study region should adopt various methods of water collection (like rain water collection and construction of reservoirs or dams) and storage and avoid misuse of water. 2. Both public and private institutions should give appropriate attention to the provision and maintenance of potable water sources in the rural areas.