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INFORMAL WATER VENDING IN YENAGOA, BAYELSA STATE , NIGERIA

The aim of this study was to examine the pattern of informal water vending in Yenagoa metropolis. The study adopted the survey design, which involved field observation and the administration of two sets of 100 and 400 questionnaires, which were administered to water vendors and households respectively, in ten randomly selected communities, using the systematic sampling technique. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that 61.30% of households depended on informal water vendors for their water supply, as 59.48% of households do not have water connection. However, the activities of the informal vendors were not well appreciated and regulated by government. This also influenced households’ poor rating of their services. The water vending business was more prominent in areas that were occupied by the less privileged, which lack public water utility, thus validating the underclass hypothesis. It is recommended that government should integrate informal water vendors into the mainstream of water provision in the town by establishing a legal regulatory framework, which would help to achieve safe and affordable water supply to the inhabitants.