IMPACT OF SANITARY LANDFILLS TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Water is the most abundant environmental resource on earth but its accessibility is based on quality and quantity, as well as space and time. It may be available in various forms and quantity but its use for various purposes is the subject of quality. About 70% of the human body and about 60-70% of plant cells is made up of water (Smith and Edger, 2006). It is one of the determinants of human settlement, existence and activities on the earth. Its quantity is fixed but dynamic in formation and storage. Of all the environmental concerns that developing countries face, the lack of adequate, good quality water remains the most serious (Markandya, 2004). Once contaminated, groundwater may forever remain polluted without remedy or treatment. Water is one of the determinants of human earth system. Diseases may spring up through water pollution, especially groundwater contamination, and rapidly spread beyond human expectation because of its flow mechanism (Afolayan et al., 2012). One of the major factors that make the earth habitable for humans is the presence of water. Forming the major component of plant and animal cells, it is the basis of life and therefore the development of water resources is an important component in the integrated development of any area.

Water is critical to our daily lives and is an extraordinary compound in nature. It covers 71% of Earth (USGS, 2014). Water is the most important resource of a country, and of the entire society, since no life is possible without water. It has this unique position among other natural resources, because a country can survive in the absence of any other resource, except water (Garg, 2009). According to the National Water Policy (2002), in the planning and operation of systems, water allocation priorities should be broadly as follows: drinking, irrigation, hydropower, ecology, agro-industries and non-agricultural industries, navigation and other uses.