Potable water is becoming a scarce commodity in many regions of the world due to climate change and increasing demand. The aim of this paper is to examine the inequality in access to potable water in the informal water market among urban residents within the Ijebu-Ode city of Nigeria. The objectives are to identify the socio-economic factors determining access to potable water, highlight factors shaping residents' access to equitable and sustainable water supply within the city. This paper which was derived from a survey used a mixed-method design with cluster sampling procedure for selection of residential quarters. Five hundred and seven households were randomly selected for study using Cochran’s sample size formula. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse major sources of potable water, multiple linear regression model was used to analyse socio-economic factors determining resident’s access to informal water supply. Findings revealed that 73.6% of respondents use hand pump borehole, water seller/kiosk (7.0%), public tap (6.2%), package sachet water (4.7%), and 3.8% of respondents use unimproved water supply. Regression model analysis indicate a positive relationship between access to water and variables such as occupation of household Head (HHH) (Beta = .075, p = 0.131), age of HHH (Beta = .025, p = 0.642), average monthly income (Beta = 0.087, p = 0.093), and storage facility (Beta = 0.099, p = 0.044). The paper recommends establishment of water services regulatory body, provision of loans for informal water market operators and promotion of informal water market to boost access to potable water in the cities.
Obisanya et al. (2026) studied this question.