NATURE OF HYDROGEOLOGY, WATER SUPPLY AND THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE MANAGEMENT OF WATER SOME PARTS OF KANO STATE, NIGERIA

The study examined nature of hydrogeology and role of gender in water supply in parts of Kano State, Nigeria. Five out of forty four local government areas of the state were randomly selected through balloting process. In each of the selected local government areas two sampling site were selected using simple random sampling. Data on number of bore holes, open wells, taps and other sources of water supply was collected through field observation. Responses on sources of water supply, water storage, water management, water usage, water supply and role of women, water and family size was collected using self-administered interview Findings of the research shows that bore hole is the major source of drinking water with a total of 83 (27.6%) followed by open well with 69 (23%) and Tap and well with least 4 (1.3%). It can be seen that Hotoron Masallaci with highest number of bore holes 18 and open well 7 with Dior Granite as the nature of hydrogeology and water table of about 506 – 560m. Also lambu with 15 bore holes and 7 well is having Coarse pink and Black granite as the nature of hydrogeology of the area and water table of 456 – 507m. It can be observed that Rijiyar Lemo with 3 bore and 2 wells and Kurnar Asabe with 3 bore holes and 9 wells are all having Pink and white granites which signifies low ground water and high water table values of 666 – 717m. It is deduced that 92% of the respondents store their water in drums. It was established that there is significant differences with regards to water storage among the study locations. Result also shows that water management is mostly controlled by women. It can be seen that 92% uses water for cooking. It is proved that 57% of the respondents said water availability rest with women, 45% by men and 3% by children. It is established from the result that most of the villages depend on groundwater as their major source of water, groundwater availability is associated with nature of hydrogeology and water supply and utilization depend largely on gender. Reference to the findings of the research it is recommended that Government and stakeholders should encourage the development of a well-designed project for integrated water supply in the  area.