KANO: Sanitation Status
Sanitation provision in Kano (Nigeria’s third-largest city, capital of Kano State in the north of the country) is grossly deficient, as in most cities in sub-Saharan Africa: most people do not have access to a hygienic toilet; large amounts of faecal waste are discharged to the environment without adequate treatment; this is likely to have major impacts on infectious disease burden and quality of life (Hutton et al. 2007). This article briefly summarizes the current sanitation situation in Kano.
This page is part of the fully editable open-access reference source on the sanitation status of all major cities in sub-Saharan Africa. The resource considers the 40 urban agglomerations in sub-Saharan Africa with a current population of 1 million or more. To read some of the other 40 country profiles, go back tothe resource Homepage.
N.B These pages should be considered as incomplete provisional drafts, and contributions are actively requested from specialists with expert local knowledge of each specific city
Table of Contents
- Background information
- Water resources and supply: overview
- Sanitation access
- Sewerage system
- Septage management (septage = nightsoil and/or sludge from onsite facilities)
- Sewage treatment (sewage = sewered wastes and/or septage)
- Sanitation in low-income districts
- Responsibility
- Sanitation masterplan?
- Sanitation financing
- Major investments and donor interventions
- Sources and further reading
- References
- Other City Profiles
Background information
Kano is Nigeria’s third-largest urban agglomeration, capital of Kano State in the north of the country, with a population of about 3.3 million people (Brinkhoff 2010). It is a flat city drained by the Jakara River and several streams (Niger River watershed) running northwards; the Chawara River (Lake Chad watershed) runs to the south of the city; all are severely polluted by urban and industrial effluents (Bichi & Anyata 1999, Dan’Azumi & Bichi 2010). Climate is tropical wet and dry (Köppen classification Aw); mean annual rainfall is about 850 mm. We currently have no information of whether flooding is a severe problem. There is significant industrial activity, including textiles, tanneries, chemicals and iron/steel (Dan’Azumi & Bichi 2010). A large proportion of the population lives in low-income settlements, including very poor informal settlements.
Water resources and supply: overview
Water is supplied mainly from reservoirs on local rivers (Ahmed 2008). No detailed information currently available on resources or supply.
Sanitation access
In densely populated low-income settlements, pit latrines are widely used; Debomy (2000) reports that this is because there is no reliable water supply for pour-flush latrines. WUPCBA (2003) reports that bucket latrines remain widely used. In recent years, the Kano State agency KASEPPA is reported to have facilitated the introduction of nearly 150 privately-operated public latrines, notably by providing land and standard construction plans (for very interesting details, see Ayoti 2001 and WUPCBA 2003). USAID (2009) notes that “Lack of accurate date makes it impossible to determine whether Nigeria is making progress to meet its MDG targets in the WSS sector”.
Sewerage system
Kano has no sewerage system (except for very small systems serving institutions and private estates).
Septage management (septage = nightsoil and/or sludge from onsite facilities)
In densely populated traditional settlements, manual emptying of pit latrines is common; for detailed information see Debomy (2000), who argues that in this context pit latrines and manual emptying could, if better regulated, be an acceptable sanitation system. Livestock raising is important within the urban area, and Lewcock (1995) reports there is a tradition of using urban solid waste (including organic solid waste, livestock manure, abattoir waste, and faecal sludge from open drains) as fertilizer in areas close to the city; similarly Debomy (2000) notes that some pit latrine sludge is applied as fertilizer; see also Binns et al. (2003).
Sewage treatment (sewage = sewered wastes and/or septage)
As far as we are aware, Kano has no major wastewater treatment facilities.
Sanitation in low-income districts
We are not aware of any detailed mapping of high-sanitation-need districts, or of any specific policy for sanitation improvement in informal settlements.
Responsibility
Federal and state responsibilities are summarized in USAID (2009). Kano State Environmental Planning and Protection Agency (KASEPPA; http://www.kanostate.net/land.html), part of Kano State Government’s Ministry of Land and physical Planning, is responsible for urban land-use planning and infrastructure provision, and is involved in various areas of sanitation, including public toilet provision (Ayoti 2001) and technical assistance with household latrine construction (Debomy 2000).
Sanitation masterplan?
As far as we know, there is no current sanitation masterplan, or broader masterplan covering sanitation.
Sanitation financing
No specific information.
Major investments and donor interventions
No specific information.
Sources and further reading
No specific information.
References
Ahmed K (2008) The Kano Physical Environment. http://www.kanostate.net/physical.html
Ayoti M (2001) “Private Public Conveniences; Kano, Nigeria”, Water and Sanitation for All: A Practitioner’s Companion. http://web.mit.edu/urbanupgrading/waterandsanitation/resources/caseExamples/narrative-form.html#Anchor-Private-47857
Bichi MH & Anyata BU (1999) Industrial Waste Pollution in the Kano River Basin. Environmental Management and Health, 10(2): p. 112-116.
Binns JA, Maconachie RA & Tanko AI (2003) Water, land and health in urban and peri-urban food production: the case of Kano, Nigeria. Land Degradation and Development, 14(5), pp 431-444. http://www.cityfarmer.org/kano.html
Brinkhoff T (2010) City Population. http://www.citypopulation.de
Dan’Azumi S & Bichi MH (2010) Industrial pollution and heavy metals profile of Challawa River in Kano, Nigeria. Journal of Applied Sciences in Environmental Sanitation, 5 (1): 23-29.
Debomy S (2000) Commercial solid waste collection by night-soil attendants in Kano, Nigeria. Water Utilities Partnership Project 5.
Hutton G, Haller L & Bartram J (2007) Economic and health effects of increasing coverage of low cost household drinking-water supply and sanitation interventions to countries off-track to meet MDG target 10. Geneva, Switzerland, World Health Organization. http://www.irc.nl/page/38443
UNEP/GRID-Arendal (2002) Water availability in Africa. UNEP/GRID-Arendal Maps and Graphics Library. http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/water_availability_in_africa.
USAID (2009) Nigeria: Water and Sanitation Profile. http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADO937.pdf
WUPCBA [Water Utility Partnership for Capacity Building Africa] (2003) Better Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor. Good Practice from Sub-Saharan Africa, European Communities and Water Utility Partnership, Nairobi.
Other City Profiles
4) ANTANANARIVO (Madagascar) 3
7) BRAZZAVILLE (Republic of Congo) 3
12) DAR ES SALAAM (Tanzania) 3
14) DURBAN THEKWINI (South Africa) 3
18) JOHANNESBURG-EKURHULENI (South Africa) 3
23) KINSHASA (Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC) 3
27) LUBUMBASHI (Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC) 3
31) MBUJI-MAYI (Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC) 3
35) OUGADOUGOU (Burkina Faso) 3
36) PORT ELIZABETH (South Africa) 3
